Bye bye base phase

What a great week. Nothing like the joys of having a recovery week. I would have to look back and see if it was an easier recovery week or the same as normal but to me it felt the best. It could have been that the week before was really hard. I don't know but I am happy with this week. I was reduced to only doing two of everything this week. woohoo. With that I see the end of the base phase. Its hard to explain so here is the plan.

Well there it is the full 40 week program that is going to get me to the finish line. Well that's the plan anyway. :) Next part is the build phase. I don't know what that means for my days yet until tomorrow night when I get my new schedule. My assumption is that it will be longer, harder and faster sessions.

I have started receiving countdown emails for the 70.3 in November. Only 10 weeks to go. So exciting. This is the first time that they have held a 70.3 in Sydney so it should be fun. The course has been published online and as it is only 30min drive from home it looks like we will be making a trip up that way to ride the bike section. The swim and run I already know as its where my club holds its races but the ride heads out into the streets so I have not done that part yet.

I have been going over the race schedule. They seem to have a nice spread of activities over the three days. I have to rack my bike the day before so that will give me some time out there looking at the store, expo, transition tour and race video. I might try to get out early enough to watch the ironkids race as well. May as well cheer the young ones on. Then Sunday the race is on at 6am. That will mean I can finish before lunch and have the rest of the day to moan about how much my body hurts. haha.

Apart from that excitement I have entered the first club race in four weeks time followed by the Nepean Tri the week after. Both are shorter distances but should give my gear and transition a good shakedown.

Last week I purchased my new wetsuit. I have been looking around for some time at what I want to get. In the end it came down to fit and the service of the people at the Aquashop in Gordon. I don't know if the top down zipper is going to be a pain or not as you can't do it up yourself but we will see. One thing is it stops someone from undoing my wetsuit during the swim so that is a good thing.

I am taking it out for a test run in the ocean this weekend so we will see how it goes. I don't know why I am heading into the water this early after winter. Doing an IM makes me think I have lost my marbles so maybe this confirms it.

All up the weather has been changing for the better. Warmer days are happening. The magpies are still swooping but I have worked out that if I ride with a mate they don't get us. Maybe he is my lucky charm.

On another note a good friend Amy is doing her first ever triathlon this weekend. She chose to do the olympic distance which is crazy for a first crack but I know she will do well. I am kind of jealous I am not joining her or even getting to cheer her on from the sidelines but seeing as I am nowhere near San Diego it makes it hard to get there. haha. So on that note I end this entry with my final words being.. Go Amy!!

Winter is over.

Last week marked the end of another winter. Not all bad really. Lots of sun to keep the training pleasant. Sure it was a little cold at times but at least it wasn't always raining. Yes the last couple of weeks has been almost non stop rain but I guess we needed it so it all works out in the end.

My physio sessions have been going well. We are down to fortnightly sessions although I did run and ride this weekend without any pain so I don't think I will be needing the physio for much longer. Yay. Always a win in my books. I also believe that I found a good masseuse. She seemed to know all the right places to prod and poke. Also she explains what she has found and what I can do to prevent being so tight. So that was a win as well.

The easy week didn't turn out to be as easy as I had hoped. I don't know what I was looking for. Maybe a couple of days of watching movies. :P Anyway it was easier than the previous week and the weeks that have followed. Training generally is going well. I am still eager to get out there and do an event though. My biggest pain about the training right now is the magpies and plovers. Damn stupid bird breading time. I might have a backwards sense of caution or something as we are supposed to have most of the worlds deadliest snakes and spiders but what I worry about while riding and running is getting pecked on the head by some stupid bird. So far I have been swooped twice while running and had three birds chase me while riding. I find if you go fast enough they can't get a shot at you and will just follow from above. Either way I get out of rhythm and it annoys me to have to look over my shoulder. I can only hope that the next eight weeks go by fast so they will stop. If they don't they might find themselves on the wrong end of a piece of lead.

The training is getting harder but nothing that I wasn't expecting. I now have to do three sessions of everything. In total a little over 11hrs of training for the week. Weekends have been hard to do anything after training. I get so tired that I tend to want to sit around and watch some sport on TV. But with the first of the races around the corner it will be more fun soon. Sunday was another group training session. It was fun as it was different. I don't know what you would call it but we sort of named it a transition session. We got ready like we were leaving T1 and headed out of the coaches driveway where we mounted the bikes. Then did about a 20min ride at reasonable pace out and back to his place where we had to dismount, complete T2 and run off for about 5min. We did that four times. Yes it got a little competitive each round as the pace and talk started to pick up. But it was fun. I started doing different styles of flying mounts which I have not really tried before. I am happy I never fell on my head and I think that I have found something that will work for me. I have to practice a bit more and get everything right before I really feel comfortable but it will get there. Not that I think I will be doing that in the IM.

Well I guess its time for more training..... Swim, bike, run, repeat...

So far away yet so close

Well its been a little while since I updated here. What been happening is a good question but probably easy to answer. In short just training. :)

So I have been going to the physio once a week for my knee issues. Its getting better but not there yet. I really look forward to the day I can run again and the only pain I have is muscle pain because I used them. I hate the pain here or there because of some stupid stretching I wasn't doing enough of or something similar. Anyway I think we will get there one day. So for now its more stretching and strength work from the physio.

IM training is going well. This week is a hard week. The weekends 3.5hr ride and 100min run are going to be tough but I know that next week will be an easy week in the rotation so I look forward to that. All other training is just moving along as expected. I am tired a lot of the time and days are almost blurring into each other. I guess that's what its like when it is non stop.

I did get a chance to change it up last weekend. I got to run in the city2surf. For those who might read this and don't know what it is then basically its 70,000 people running from the middle of Sydney 14km's out to Bondi beach. I have done it three times now and this is the first time I have not had to walk. Its strange how the mind works. There was a few sections I remember being very painful and long. I had images in my head of roads that I hated in the past. But when you feel good while running those same sections seemed short. Anyway I was happy with my result of 66min. I took almost 20min off my previous best time. I would have liked to beat my mate Fil who I work with and is known as the flash but he is just a little too fast for me. Maybe another time. I guess it shows what real training can do.

Well while the IM is still 206 days away I started thinking about some of the other events that I have signed up for. Really I have 2 months till my first triathlon event. After that I will be doing at least one a month until the big day. So I guess we are not far away until I get to change it up and see how my training has been going. I guess I am looking forward to that time of year. It is the best time. I am not a great trainee but I know it is needed.

Stupid injuries

So its been a sad few weeks. I started to get some pain in both knees. So much so I couldn't do all the training that I wanted to do. So I thought I should go and see the physio. Yeah maybe I could have gone sooner but I usually just try to get through it and hope that whatever is annoying me will go away.

Well it seems that the cause of the pain was the kneecap not being in the correct location (groove) as it should be and is rubbing against some other part of the knee that it shouldn't. Yes I am very technical with my explanation I know. Anyway the reason its not sitting correctly is the muscle in my legs in the front of my hip that go down the leg and attach to the kneecap are very tight. So with a little elbowing into some tender part of my leg I seemed to have a bit of relief. But unfortunately I wish that one session of pain was going to be enough but it wasn't. I now have to spend many hours of the day rolling my legs and laying with a tennis ball on some tender muscles. Lucky Dee has lent me the use of her elbow most nights while watching TV. She might even enjoy it as it brings me pain and when she laughs about something the slight bounce in her body pushes her elbow into my leg even more.

The good news is it seems to be slowly getting better. It has fallen into line with the end of a 4 week training cycle so I get to have a more relaxed week this week and the coach said I can miss a couple of sessions here and there without any real set back.

Apart from the injury I have been amazed at the stupidness of some of the shops around here. On the weekend I went for a drive to look at a tri wetsuit. It was an hour away as they are the only people anywhere close by that has the brand that I was looking at. I could not fault the lady at the Aquashop in Gordon. She let me try it on. Talked to me about some of the cheaper options and generally listened to what I had to say. So far out of three brands I have in mind they are now on the top. A lot of that has to do with service and I will drive the hour to buy it instead of purchasing online or anything like that. So when I went to leave I thought about dropping past a triathlon specific shop and looking at some tri bike shoes which I had read about. Once again this is brand that not everyone stocks and the tri shop is the closest to home that have it. This is where the good service of the day ended.

Knowing I have to almost pass the shop on the way home it was a good excuse to have a look. I remembered the shop was closing for renovations so I gave them a call first to see if they were around still as a store or now only online. The shop owner said that yes they were seeing people in his wife's yoga studio and he would have the shoes I was after. So I turned up to the shop, tried on the shoes. Had a bit of a chat as you do but nothing special. He said they should feel snug but not too tight as the foot will swell. Nothing I have not heard before but always good information. The shoes were ok but nothing special. My current ones are more comfortable but as these can be molded to the foot so they could be the best shoe ever I don't know. Anyway I was not ready to purchase as I have other things I want to do and look at first so I thank him and go to put my shoes back on. He says so are you going to take them acting like its a done deal. I said I was going to look at others and if I decide to buy them I would be back. He then told me that he should have said on the phone that there was a $50 fitting fee. I told him that yes he should have told me and its unfortunate that he didn't. He explained that I was going to order them online like so many people do and he would be out of business if he didn't charge these fee's. I thought that's sad but really its not my issue. I told him that I was not out to buy shoes today and I only came past to have a look as it was on my way home. I did explain this a few times on the phone and while trying on the shoes. I said that if I spend $200 on shoes without talking to my wife about it first I would be in trouble. Yes a slight joke but honestly as a couple you should discuss these things first. He replied with if he let me out of this shop without getting his $50 his wife would not be happy either and that he would have to call her and see if that was ok. I said well you have to do what you have to do. He then said that if I can't afford $200 shoes then I am in the wrong sport. I really don't think that he understands the full story. Its not that I can't afford to spend $200 but I do like to talk to my wife about it, look at all my options and also not be pressured into it. He also tried to use the guilt trip of him having to get the shoes out of wherever they were so I could have a look. I mean is it my fault that he is renovating his store. Really he tried every tactic to get me to pay him some money. So anyway I walked out without paying a thing thinking what a f@#k head.

So if anyone ever is in Oatley NSW and wants tri gear DO NOT go see The Triathlon Shop (trigearonline.com.au) as he is a jerk and should be out of business with that kind of service. While you are at it you may as well boycott Gracefully fit yoga as if his wife runs her business the same she can go to hell as well. I hate to see a triathlon shop go out of business as we don't have many around but if you are going to run one like he does then screw that shop.

So that was stupid shop one. The next is where I get my gels from. They are cheaper than the rest but they have no idea how to run an internet shop. I have made a few orders and delivery is fast and good when they get it right but when they don't pray to god as he is the only one that seems to be able to help. I have learned never to call the 1800 number for them. You get a answering service but no matter what option you select the phone just rings and rings. If you call the interstate one they answer but when you ask for who you want they are always in a meeting. No matter what time of day. I think they just have meetings. Anyway I was informed they would call me back and as they have new staff because the last guy left as he was a joke I would actually get a call back. Well sure enough they called me back this time. Yay. I was basically asking why my order had the status as part paid when I did select that option. They said that they could only supply half the order so only charged me half the amount. I was cool with that and sure enough I got what I had paid for. So far so good. Anyway a few days later I get a call from them asking if they can have my card number again to charge me for the rest of the order. They told me that they sent the complete order when they realised they actually had all the stock and now wanted their money. I informed them that I did not receive my full order and I don't believe that they sent it and relayed my conversation i had with them a few days before. They said they would find out when the extra stuff was sent and get back to me. So far I have not heard from them again. If I do get the extra stuff I will call them and let them know but its just crazy they are so messed up for the professional business that they say they are. I mean where is the online store that checks stock from a database etc like most online stores have. Just crazy. Anyway I have ranted enough.

On a brighter note while the mornings are cold the days here are really nice. Maybe not if you were a farmer relying on water but for me and my training its wonderful. Even last night I got off the train after work and I noticed it was brighter than a few weeks before so I can start to tell that summer is coming. Woohoo.

Pyrmont bridge in the morning

My bed is warm.

This is why it is so hard to get up and train in the mornings. Yes it is in Celsius.

Ok so some of my US friends might call me weak and think that this is warm weather but I don't. And today is a swim day. :(

34 weeks out

So another week down and 34 to go. My body is feeling better than I thought that it might. What I have found is that using a roller and stretching is important. I have fixed many pains that way. I have never been one to stretch much especially before sports so I find it hard to remember to do it.

Swimming has been good generally. Probably still the hardest to look forward to doing now that the cold has settled in. Its not great fun generally but putting on jumpers etc to go to a pool to swim is kind of wrong. Swim technique is not a bad session. I can leave that feeling relaxed but the race prep session is hard and is only getting harder. Lots of solid paced laps with timings to be within. I find I go out a little fast and have not found my happy pace yet. One day I am sure I will get it.

I got to have my first brick session of on the weekend. I had a 2hr zone 2 ride with a 15min zone 2 run. The ride was the fastest zone 2 ride I have ever done. I averaged 32.5km/h for the two hours. I even got back so early that I had to go around the block to make up the extra time I needed. Getting off the bike and running still gets me. The body likes to tell you that your done and you should sit down for a while. Then you realise that you are going to fast. Slowing to a normal pace feels like your almost walking but eventually everything gets back to normal. Something that did give me a chuckle at the end of the run was the icecream truck following me up and around a couple of streets. I must have looked like I was hungry. Well then again I probably always look like I am hungry and yes I can always eat if there is food around. This weekend I have a 2.5hr ride which has to include some hills so that will make it more interesting. Its not like my current path is flat but I guess it is not hilly enough.

The running is probably taking the biggest toll on the body. I sure do feel it after 1.5hrs on the go. I don't feel like I can't keep going its more when you stop the legs just kind of say "here feel this ya bugger and don't think about starting that again any time soon" as my legs feel heavy and done. :) Adam came up for the run this weekend. Its kind of nice to have someone to chat to while you run. I will enjoy it while I can as I know most of my training will be alone. He did comment that we had just completed the city2surf distance as a training run. That kind of got me thinking about when we did train for the first city2surf we did a few years back. We would do 5km runs as training and slowly build up to 10kms. If you did make it that far on a training run everyone would think your crazy. Ok back then most training was done in the pub so getting out for any training was a big deal.

So with five weeks completed of my actual ironman plan I have done the following.

Swim: 23.5km
Bike: 450.51km
Run: 151.78km

I think I need a sleep. :)

Prep stage is over

So the first four weeks of training is over and with that we see the end of the prep stage. Next twelve weeks will be the base stage. Three sets of four week plans that get increasingly longer. Looks like I am going to start to have to put in some long days. Also it seems that my optional bike session will no longer be optional.

So what did I learn from the first section of training. Well I know that I am always a little tired. Nothing crazy. I feel good but not 100%. Anyway its all good. I also found that I am running faster in zone 2 now than I did at the start. Also to get to zone 3 I have a reasonably fast pace. So I hope I can use that later as I race.

My swim training sessions have also ended. They were ok. I didn't like the early starts and having to get in an outdoor pool during winter but I got it done. I have a few things that I need to work on. Head position is probably the main thing. Making sure I don't cross over in my arm stroke and pulling directly back and not across my body are probably the other big things I got out of it. If I get that right the rest will be strength.

This weekend we got to have our first group training session with the coach. We worked on run technique and drills. Boy was that hard work. I was questioning if I would make it to the end of that session but I dragged myself through it. We had a lot of short sprinter type drills which will be incorporated into our weekly plans. This is to help get a little more speed into our stride. One thing I do like about training with our coach early Saturday morning is the breakfast his wife makes us. Hmm pancakes and fruit salad. What I nice way to end a training session.

We hope to do a group bike training session soon which should be good. My rides of late have not been that bad but there has been some issues. Stupid Samsung S4 stopping my music after 30min, blowing a tyre but not just a puncture but slicing a nice hole in it and some annoying wind today that just didn't seem to ever be behind me. It always seemed to be a head or cross wind. No matter which way the road turned even when it should have been behind me it wasn't. I guess it was a character build wind. :)

So more fun times ahead. Woohoo.