Open triathlon training blog

[SeditionTrial]

So, didn't end up riding a fortnight ago, did 7 km run instead, 35 min. Swimming a few times since then, always about 1.5 km in around 35 min. Also hill climbing on mt gravatt, 8:30, 8:30 and 9:10 three climbs in one session, one 10 km commute to wor, also. Need to increase distance and frequency of bike trips if I'm going to make it under 2:45. K

[bpmhigh]

The last time I posted I mentioned I was shagged after a ramp up week. The week finished with a 100km ride followed by a 10k run brick. Ride went well but having only one bottle was a drama - got quite dehydrated. The run felt good for the first 5k (about 5:15 pace) and then I fell in a hole. Made it to the 8km mark but heart rate was off the scale and even 6 minute k's couldn't bring it down. So it was the walk of shame back home. I was meant to back it up with another 2 hour run the following day but I could feel things going pear shaped.

Sure enough, Sunday night I was in all sorts of trouble with a viral flu coming on. Couldn't get out of bed for the next 4 days, saw 3 doctors, lost 3.5 kilos, and was eventually prescribed antibiotics - Tamiflu to be exact - the swine flu drug! Needless to say, the training came to a grinding halt until Tuesday this week when I started commuting to work again. Did an hour on the windtrainer on Thursday, and banged out a easy 50k ride today. Will run 15k tomorrow and will be back into the full program on Monday.

On the upside, all this extra time has meant I have finished my TT bike - HOORAY - only took me 12 months!

Still got a bit of tweaking to do to the fit but the specs are:

Planet X Stealth Pro Frame
Full Dura Ace 7800 group set (minus brakes - I got the better lighter Ciamello brakes)
Zipp 404's
Pro Missile bars and stem.

It tips the scales at 7.2kg and will get its maiden voyage tomorrow. First race will be Husky Long Course

[SeditionTrial]

Last post omitted a light 30min run through the Sydney Uni campus at Camperdown (was away last week for a conference). Very nice place to run if anyone gets the chance. Also highly rate the Victoria Park pool: really wide lanes, not too busy, clean and recently renovated change rooms.

Today -- triple session:
1km swim -- not timed -- bit scrappy, pool was full of people escaping the heat, so only 2 lanes for lap swimmers.
19km ride -- including 2 trips up Mt Gravatt, each 2km uphill, 6% gradient, 9min 30sec each uphill -- approx 50min total. Slow but hot and hilly.
8km run -- approx 42min.

[SeditionTrial]

Nice bike bpm: looks like it will do the job.

This evening: untimed 1.5km swim in 50m pool, following on from 11km run (59min).

Significant other and baby are out of town, so went out for dinner -- kebab at my old favourite kebab shop, so good.

Tomorrow should get off work early so planning Mt Cootha laps on the bike, as well as another swim.

Life is sweet.

[SeditionTrial]

Since then there have been a bunch of training things...

The ones I can remember:

Last weekend:
triple
- swim 1.5km in 29min50sec, that's a new PB, and the first time ever under 30min (admittedly in a 25m pool).
- running 14km in 70min (equal farthest distance I have run).
- bike 40km at 28kph (had to be a weak link somewhere).

Thursday:
bike
- 34km at 28kph (hot and unpleasant).

Weekend before:
- swim 1km untimed.
- run 7km in 42min (slow, hot).
- bike 45km at a slow pace (keeping my friend company who is just coming back to cycling after a long time off).

I think there have been some other swims in between too...

Mooloolaba triathlon coming up in 2 weeks! Not sure that I'll break 2hours 45min, but I will give it a good shake...

[Undertow]

Love the aldi work stand.

[rusteh]

So I've just got into triathlon in the last few months, and did my 1st tri last weekend the active feet fun tri at Elwood did that in 45 minutes which wasn't too bad for a 1st go I thought. So my goals...

Do less than 70 minutes at Cape Patterson short course this weekend (600/20/4)
Complete a half marathon at the Geelong marathon in May in under 2:10.
Complete a century ride (any suggestions in Melbourne?)
Complete an Olympic distance triathlon as MOPer by December 2011.
Complete a half iron man triathlon by December 2012
Complete a marathon by June 2013 in under 4 hours
Complete an Iron Man triathlon by December 2013 in 12 hours~
Complete an Iron Man triathlon by December 2015 and qualify for Kona probably around the 9 hour mark.
Complete Iron Man Kona in October 2016

That should keep me busy for awhile.

[SeditionTrial]

Sounds like a glorious five year plan... It's good to know what you want.

[Toolish]

Rusteh, was that these distances? 300m/10km/3km

Big plans there mate, planning out a 5 year deal for Kona having only done a sprint is a massive call. I have done one half and before doing it I had big plans of Ironman soon. After doing a half I have realised that until I get quicker at the half I would not enjoy ironman, so for me the plan for the next couple of years is to improve my half speed.

I will not be doing IM until I break 5 hours for a half, or 5 years time, whichever comes first.

Where do you live? Suprisingly it is not that easy to find an Olympic distance tri to do if you are in the southern states. That said there is an Oly tri in Barmera on the 10th April if you are keen for a hit out. I am tossing up competing there, I have not been swimming enough lately but I have never done an olly so tempted.

[rusteh]

I know its a pretty far out plan, and i guess the Kona stuff is in jest for now...I don't have the passion you need to get to Kona just yet, I hope it'll come one day though. Having a ball training and doing sprints at the moment. I'm in Melbourne and I know there is an Oly at sandringham at the end of the year, so that will be my goal. I'm no where near ready to do an Oly in April. Will report back as to how I go at Cape Patterson tomorrow.

[rusteh]

Won my age group at cape Patterson , Kona here I come!

[SeditionTrial]

Thursday last week, 40 km ride at approx 28kph, curse those numerous river loop intersections and traffic hazards.

Same ride in a similar time last weekend.

Ran 6.6 km in 34 min yesterday morning.

This evening 2 km swim at the 25m pool in 45 min.

One step forward two steps back.

Congrats on your win, rusteh!

[bpmhigh]

Husky Long Course done last weekend.

An excellent hit-out for week 15 of 30 of my iron distance training program and certainly confirmed that I need to step up the training if I want to get near 12 hours in June.

The swim (2km):
Quite good - have been swimming 40 mins for 2km regularly in the pool so was happy to be out of the water in 39 mins. The only glitch was that I have err.... changed shape since I've been training hard and have gotten bigger across the chest - my tight wetsuit has got even tighter making it harder to breathe and move my arms so I was glad i tried it out at the pool a few days before the race and decided to ditch it. With a proper fitting wetsuit I probably would have shaved another minute or two off. I have since ordered an Orca S3 - the next size up.

The Ride (83km):
Absolutely brilliant. The new bike is a weapon. I managed an "effective" 35kmh average which was good enough for 27th out of 130 in the 40-44 age group. Sadly however it was an "effective" 35kmh average because I failed to look over my shoulder when overtaking and "blocked" a technical official on a course motorbike and got pinged with a 5 minute penalty. It was difficult (to say the least) to be stationary for 5 minutes in the penalty box which was located in the most crowded part of town while receiving the drunken (but mostly jovial) chants of "cheat, cheat, cheat!"

The Run (20km)
Appalling. Felt great off the bike but hit the brick wall at about the 7km mark. From there it was run...walk...run...etc. Very disappointed with myself in that I couldn't just keep going as once you walk, it's too easy to keep doing it. Got home in just over 2 hours.

Total time was over 5:10 which was well above my target of sub 5. Maybe without the penalty...maybe with a wetsuit...maybe if it was a bit cooler...maybe if I was a bit tougher mentally...maybe.... etc etc!

I've since been punishing myself in training and have entered the Batemans Bay Olympic Race on April 3.

Well done rusteh on your race - tell us more.

[rusteh]

Haha I suppose I can post a bit of a race report, although not overly exciting given it was a super sprint race.

Cape Patterson is a pretty casual race run by the local tri club. Short and long courses are run with about 100 participants. I opted for the short course given it was my second ever tri and I'm a lazy schmuck so it’s a 600m/20km/4km.

Swim - This was honestly my second ever attempt at swimming in the ocean other than just stuffing around with mates at the beach, my 1st being the tri the week before. The previous week was a 300 meter swim and it took me 8 minutes which was pretty pathetic, the water had been cold and I'd thrashed around like a drunk four year old. This week I did a warm up swim which helped immensely and was swimming in open ocean rather than the polluted bay so visibility was good. I stayed to the side to avoid getting smashed in the face and tried to make my way out to the 1st buoy which was out in the breaking waves just to make it interesting. I still have no idea how to navigate so swam out way to far past the buoy but managed to sort of stay in the middle of the pack and finished the swim in about 10 minutes ( a vast improvement on the previous week) there was no split timing so I'm guessing with the times. There is then a 250~ meter run up the boat ramp to the surf club carpark for transition.

Bike - The 1st race I had been riding a steel flat bar roadie which weighs somewhere in the vicinity of the moon and is rather slow. During the week I'd acquired an Obera Aqua T105 which was about half the weight, proper road gearing, SPD-SL pedals and 23mm tyres I’d ridden about 80km on it over the past few days to try and get used to clipless and was reasonably comfortable on it so I figured I'd be a fair bit faster. There was quite a strong head wind in both directions (no idea how that works!) as the ride covers a beautiful stretch of road following cliffs along the coast between Cape Patterson and Inverloch. Again no splits but my speedo tells me it was 37 minutes at 31km/h average, I've got a huge amount of work to do on the bike before the 2011/12 season, want to get some aero bars and maybe a sweet aero lid, and really need to get my average closer to 40km/h for a 20km course.
I over took quite a few people on the ride, mostly Nevilles on mountain bikes but one or two people on proper TT rigs (must have broken a limb in the swim) so was feeling pretty good coming into T2 and was in the 1st 5 or 10 onto the run. I was however passed by quite a few bunches doing the long course, drafting wasn't allowed but there were no TOs on the course, the long course guys were pretty much all riding in groups and drafted the whole course which I felt was pretty lame on their part.

Run - This felt pretty average, I've never really run ever, hated cross country in school but decided I should do a couple of runs a week. In December I was running 3 km at about 6:30 per km by March I could run 10km at 4:40 per km pretty comfortably. On the day I was feeling rather dehydrated after making the dumb mistake of carrying Gatorade on the bike that was far too sweet to actually drink and the 1st drink station wasn't until 3/4 of the way through, to make matters worse a dumb marshal who obviously had no idea directed me the wrong way, by the time I’d double backed I'd lost a minute and three places. My back was also starting to play up as I'd injured it a few weeks ago while rowing. End of the run involves a 200 meter run along the soft sand at the beach which rather painful if you're attempting a sprint finish.

I crossed the line in 1:06:05 which won me my obviously pretty disabled age group (18-24) and put me 20th over all. My target was 70 minutes so I was happy with that time, will do the same race next year with the aim of finishing in under an hour.

Over all it was a really fun day and just spurs me on to get more into the sport, will be attempting some time trials on the bike over winter and hopefully come out swinging with some OD races in the 2011/12 season.

[SeditionTrial]

Nice race reports, sounds like good times were had.

Swim this weekend 2km 44min, 50m pool.
Indoor bike lab session (heavy rain in Brisbane on the weekend) 1 hour, 32km. Course was said to be a mock-up of Mooloolabah triathlon, which seems to have 2 large hills (one at each end of the course), but flat in the middle. I missed the last 8km (and the 2nd big hill) cos I needed to get home (took too long setting up).
Just missing the run this weekend for the set, will do it early this week hopefully.

2nd OD event coming up next weekend (providing the ocean isn't too threatening looking) :/

[bpmhigh]

Sedition

Looks like your pool times are coming down - nice work

What's a bike lab session? Is it a gym with Computrainers or the like..? Race against others?

[SeditionTrial]

Bike lab may not be the right term, not sure. It's a bank (well several banks actually) of computrainers set up with shared monitors. The one I go to is called activ cycles here in Brisbane, but pretty sure there are a few others. Good if it's raining and you don't want to risk a fall or get your gear dirty. Running tonight. Will post back with time

Re swim times, yes I seem to be making a bit of progress, but it takes such a lot of time and training. I should get a coach or join a squad

[SeditionTrial]

Running earlier in the week, 13.2km in 1:08, included a nice steady long hill towards the middle of the run. Apparently Mooloolaba run is a bit up and down.

[zakka101]

ive ran moloolaba a few times and was pretty flat. although along the beach and through maroochydore was up and down the rest was pretty decent.

this week have only done a 5ker that was 24min and a 3ker in 13:40. Short and sharp, feeling pretty good. going to get out on the bike this weekend

[bpmhigh]

136k bike, 10k run this morning. Very pleased - only got a sore neck and numb toes on the ride and the run was fine. (slow but not a death march like on previous occassions!)

20k run tomorrow morn then a leisurely catch up with some local forum members for a cruisey cycle around town.

[SeditionTrial]

Mooloolaba race:

Overall I enjoyed my day out, although in terms of measured improvement, I can't say that there has been any at all (!) since Noosa last Spring.

Swim was in the ocean. There was a strong southerly blowing, but the headland seemed to protect the beach from the worst of it. I was in one of the first age groups to hit the water, which was nice. I battled hard with some leaky goggles (might pick up a mask for next open water swim), and seemed to swimming at about 45 degrees to the surface, quite slowly. Also swam with contacts in (I have relatively poor eyesight) for the first time, which actually seemed to work well, the old addage about not trialling anything new on race day notwithstanding. I got a bit sea-sick, even though the swell was quite gentle. Out of the water in ~39min, having swallowed a couple of gob-fulls of brine.

T1 was a disaster (kind of a replay of Noosa last year). Couldn't get my damn cycling / jogging jersey to pull down my back. Stood there waving my arms around like a stranded turtle for at least a couple of minutes. Very silly.

Mooloolaba bike course goes over a few gentle rolling hills along Buderim avenue, then north along the Sunshine Motorway. As mentioned above, there was a big southerly, so the first 20km were a "breeze", sitting up high on the handle-bars and averaging about 35 to 36kph. From the half-way U-turn the slog began, trying to get down low into the wind, averaging a lot less. Recorded time for bike leg, T1 and T2 was ~1 hour 29min. Ick. Can't say what the "on the bike" time was, as my computer reset itself in the back of the car on the way home.

T2 was a little better than T1, took a little time to switch over shoes (damn orthotics, should get another pair, my current pair are getting a bit tired now anyway).

Run was again my fastest leg, two laps of a slightly hilly, but mostly flat and very pretty course next to the ocean, ~48min. Got some brownie points for picking up another runner's hat that had just blown backwards off his head. Lost some brownie points by accidentally cutting in front of someone else (in my defence I was travelling a bit faster than he was).

Overall time was 2hr 55 and 1/2min, a fair bit slower than Noosa, and I don't think any of the legs were PB times.

Things I learnt:
- No need to be afraid of the big bad ocean if you're swimming in large groups along a supervised and marked course
- Swimming with contacts works ok for me
- Get some properly fitting goggles / mask
- Wear a tri singlet in the swim (I've got a couple of promo ones now)
- Do some more ocean swimming (probably going to sign up for Byron Bay swim, 2.2km on 1st May)
- Do some more cycling (got to join a couple of good weekly group rides to push myself along)
- Get some tri bars and learn how to use them
- Get another pair of orthotics

[bpmhigh]

Sedition

Well done. Comparing times from different courses is not always a good guide given the huge variations in conditions and geography.

Re-goggles and T1 - it took me 4 pairs of goggles before I found some that sealed to my face properly, and yes if you can, having your race top/tri suit on for the swim saves alot of mucking around.

I'm off to Batemans Bay (South Coast of NSW) for the Olympic distance event this weekend. Hoping to break 2:30 which means a 29min swim, 36kmh average on the bike, and 5minute k's - fingers crossed!

[bpmhigh]

Batemans Bay done - 2:35 so slower than my goal but still chuffed with top 5 in age group.

Swim was very good - new wettie made a difference. 2-lap rectangluar course so plenty of "contact". Out in 29 mins

Bike course was brutal. 4 x 10k laps with significant undulations (that needed the small chainring/lowest gear). My goal speed of 36kmh average was never going to happen with those hills. Race speed was just under 32kmh but still good enough for top 30%. The Technical Offical was kinder to me this time as well as he warned me for taking too long to overtake rather than blowing the whistle.

Run was very good - goal pace of 5:00, actual was 4:51 so home in 48 minutes.

Now it's time to knuckle down for the last 9 weeks before Challenge Cairns so some very long days in the saddle and 3 hour long runs ahead.

[SeditionTrial]

2:35 sounds ok to me, what sort of time will you be aiming for in cairns?

I'm still aiming to get under 2:45 for the olympic distance, next opportunity will be in a few months in noosa. I got back on the wagon today, 35 min for 1.5 km in the 50m pool. Will go for a run tonight. Went cycling sunday, slow 40 km river loop, approx 27kph. Haven't registered for byron bay ocean swim yet, should really get onto that.

[bpmhigh]

2:35 sounds ok to me, what sort of time will you be aiming for in cairns?

Not really sure - the more I think about it and read about "Ironman Pacing" the less I know!

Probably the only leg I can accurately predict is the swim - somewhere between 1:10 and 1:15.

As for the bike leg, it's reasonably flat (which is good) but it will be hot (that's bad) and is very exposed to the coast so headwinds (that's very bad). With the run, I'm thinking 6:30 pace which gives a 04:35:00 marathon but again if it’s hot and/or I get my nutrition wrong, that will fly out the window.

I would be ecstatic with anything under 12 hours and gutted with anything over 13.

This weekend's ride will be a nutrition rehearsal on the bike to see what 1800 calories in 6 hours while in the aero position feels like.