4am, 16 January 2011, Oak Ridge Hotel Room.
Shit, shit, shit. I need another piss!
Okay, nice and easy, now. We don't want a repeat of the 2am episode. You see at 2am I had been woken by a bladder fit to burst and I miraculously swung my legs off the side of the bed, walked almost effortlessly to the toilet and proceeded to pee. Very proud, but utterly amazed, at how sprightly my passage to the toilet had been. I proceeded to unleash the torrent of toxins that my kidneys had spent the last few hours processing in an effort to replenish my system after the grueling punishment it had received in the preceding 24 hours. As the flood became a trickle, I sighed a huge sigh of relief and relaxed. Then, in an instant I was on all fours, one hand in the bowl, the other beside the toilet and my face centimetres from the u-bend giving it a full-blown inspection. Hmmm, this can't be good, but I guess I have just finished my first iron-distance race in the worst conditions in ironman history, I thought to myself as I pondered how I had just managed to go from vertical to horizontal in no time flat. Taking a deep breath, I slowly got back to my feet, hugging the wall all the way back to bed. Note to self: next time try not to pass out.
So, as you can guess, I'm not too keen on this second trip to the toilet. In fact, I think I'll lie here for a few minutes in the hope that I'll just pop back off to sleep and the pressure in my bladder will some how dissipate. In fact, its at moments like these that I'd be thankful to have the old catheter bag back (I have some funny stories about those that I'll have to include here some day) - oh, what a convenience that would be.
Okay, I have to stop thinking about my bladder. Just concentrate on sleep... sleepy, you feel sleepy... Oh, sod it, I'll have to get it, the pressure is too great. Slowly does it, slowly does it.
Legs out! I said, "Legs out!" Bollocks, I think they need a little bit of a helping hand. Hands under right leg aaaand... Lift! aaaand left leg aaaand... Lift! Deep breath now... aaaand sit UP! Now that wasn't so bad and the head's feeling fine too. On to our feet and off we go. Nice and slowly. Now that wasn't so hard was it.
Now, time for some intense concentration, as I said, we don't want a repeat of the last episode, do we! Release slowly, just a dribble now. Great, all systems still fully operational. Phew, that's a relie... Oh shit, here we go again! Maybe if I just turn around really quickly and head straight back to the bed I'll be okay. No that's not working. THUD!
"It's okay, Geoff! I'm okay. I just passed out, but I am fine!" My temple had smashed against the porcelain hand basin with an almighty crack en route to the steely cold tiles of the bathroom floor, but somehow I lay their perfectly lucid and relatively unscathed.
"What the hell just happened?" Geoff said as he sped to my aid at lightening speed. I don't know how he didn't pass out himself, as he barely had time to wake up before he bolted to me in the bathroom and he had just finished the Lake Wanaka Half yesterday too. "Shit, mate! What the hell were you doing?" he queried. "I passed out having a piss. It happened at 2am as well." I said and proceeded to tell him about my two fainting episodes. "You stupid bastard!", he said, "why didn't you get me up to help you?" "I didn't want to disturb you and I thought I'd be okay this time." "Why didn't you sit down the second time then?!" Dah, why didn't I think of that? But I guess these things don't come to you that easily when you have spent more than 15 hours of the previous 24 hours moving non-stop under your own steam and then an hour and half in a medical tent unable to get far beyond horizontal.
My journey had begun with me strewn on the pavement having just been mown down by a truck and here I was, almost 10 years, in the same position - compromised, vulnerable and in a far from healthy state - and you know what? I couldn't wipe the smile off my face!
I had done it. I had come way further than full circle and done something no one would have believed possible. I had become an ironman!
Next time: 4am the day before and the start of one of the proudest days of my life.
21 July 2011
03 July 2011
My Tale of Challenge Wanaka 2011
You may have wondered where my race report has disappeared to. To be honest I don't know why I have been reluctant to write it, but I think that it is coming soon. Strangely, even though I religiously record all of my event stats, I haven't even put my race details in my results spreadsheet.
Perhaps it is because deep down I feel like I did not give the race my all. A time of more than 15 hours was gut wrenching and not being able to run the marathon almost broke me on race day; not the cramp itself, just the fact that I couldn't run. I had trained so hard and yet I was not able to complete the race as I had scripted it in my head.
I know that's a load of bollocks and I should be proud of my achievement and, trust me I am, but that hasn't stopped me being more than a little disappointed. The fact that training has been far from ideal this year is also playing on my mind and has made me reluctant to write about my race experience for fear that it will discourage me even further.
But recently, I have had a few fleeting moments of reflection of all of the amazing and wonderful things that happened to me last year in training and the enormity of the target that I set myself and achieved on 15 January.
I have just re-read Dean Karnazes' brilliant first book Ultramarathon Man and his descriptions of his ultradistance running experiences brought all my experiences flooding back in technicolour. His third book, so eloquently entitled Run, and which I read in record time, also stirred many emotional memories of race day. But perhaps it was today's run up Dunedin's Pineapple Track and Flagstaff that has rekindled my enthusiasm to tell my tale.
Today's was a 90-minute easy, recovery run and last year this would have resulted in me selecting the flattest route possible, preferably out of the wind and somewhere that I didn't have to think about things too much. But today I decided the Pineapple Track was a must do. The track rises more than 520 metres to the summit of Flagstaff and opens to a panorama across the city to the ocean, breathtaking views inland to the Rock and Pillar Range and over to the Taieri Plains as they stretch out beneath. The track to the summit is 4km long and it took me 38 minutes to get to the top, but I felt exhilarated when I reached the top, not tired at all. It has been more than 20 years since I have been to the top of Flagstaff and never before have I considered running it, and hell would have frozen over before I'd have selected it as my long easy run.
Today, I realised that Challenge Wanaka has changed me. Easy has a new definition. No longer is easy the path of least resistance. Easy is now about how I approach a challenge (a state of mind and attitude towards the challenge), not the challenge itself.
I think I had expected a huge change to wash over me as I crossed the finish line in some baptism of enlightenment. When that didn't happen I just assumed that I had not achieved what I had set out to do and that is what I have continued to believe for the past six months. It's not that I didn't feel different following my race, I did. I felt some how more... I don't know... just more, actually. It was, and continues to be, a weird feeling. But today, I realise that the huge change that has happened is actually very small: so small I didn't even notice it's there, yet so huge that it has changed the course of my life forever. In a way it is the opposite of my accident, which was so instantly and tangibly life-changing (in both good and bad ways), when the reality was the changes I made as a result of my accident were so very small. The accident imposed change upon me, Challenge has empowered me to make a change.
The tale of something so life-changingshould must not remain untold...
Watch this space...
Perhaps it is because deep down I feel like I did not give the race my all. A time of more than 15 hours was gut wrenching and not being able to run the marathon almost broke me on race day; not the cramp itself, just the fact that I couldn't run. I had trained so hard and yet I was not able to complete the race as I had scripted it in my head.
I know that's a load of bollocks and I should be proud of my achievement and, trust me I am, but that hasn't stopped me being more than a little disappointed. The fact that training has been far from ideal this year is also playing on my mind and has made me reluctant to write about my race experience for fear that it will discourage me even further.
But recently, I have had a few fleeting moments of reflection of all of the amazing and wonderful things that happened to me last year in training and the enormity of the target that I set myself and achieved on 15 January.
I have just re-read Dean Karnazes' brilliant first book Ultramarathon Man and his descriptions of his ultradistance running experiences brought all my experiences flooding back in technicolour. His third book, so eloquently entitled Run, and which I read in record time, also stirred many emotional memories of race day. But perhaps it was today's run up Dunedin's Pineapple Track and Flagstaff that has rekindled my enthusiasm to tell my tale.
Today's was a 90-minute easy, recovery run and last year this would have resulted in me selecting the flattest route possible, preferably out of the wind and somewhere that I didn't have to think about things too much. But today I decided the Pineapple Track was a must do. The track rises more than 520 metres to the summit of Flagstaff and opens to a panorama across the city to the ocean, breathtaking views inland to the Rock and Pillar Range and over to the Taieri Plains as they stretch out beneath. The track to the summit is 4km long and it took me 38 minutes to get to the top, but I felt exhilarated when I reached the top, not tired at all. It has been more than 20 years since I have been to the top of Flagstaff and never before have I considered running it, and hell would have frozen over before I'd have selected it as my long easy run.
Today, I realised that Challenge Wanaka has changed me. Easy has a new definition. No longer is easy the path of least resistance. Easy is now about how I approach a challenge (a state of mind and attitude towards the challenge), not the challenge itself.
I think I had expected a huge change to wash over me as I crossed the finish line in some baptism of enlightenment. When that didn't happen I just assumed that I had not achieved what I had set out to do and that is what I have continued to believe for the past six months. It's not that I didn't feel different following my race, I did. I felt some how more... I don't know... just more, actually. It was, and continues to be, a weird feeling. But today, I realise that the huge change that has happened is actually very small: so small I didn't even notice it's there, yet so huge that it has changed the course of my life forever. In a way it is the opposite of my accident, which was so instantly and tangibly life-changing (in both good and bad ways), when the reality was the changes I made as a result of my accident were so very small. The accident imposed change upon me, Challenge has empowered me to make a change.
The tale of something so life-changing
Watch this space...
20 June 2011
More ups and downs
After my last post things have generally been on the up, but training has not been without its interruptions. I ended up with a very swollen gland in my neck and had another visit to the doctor. There wasn't any apparent cause for the swelling, but the Doc thought it might have been something like 'sand' in my saliva gland (a small piece of grit produced by the body in the same way that the kidney can produce stones). It was very painful and put me out of action for 4 or 5 days.
Thankfully the swelling and pain disappeared within a few days and just a few days later I managed to run a PB for 5km in training and things were looking up again. Then, just 3 days later I rolled my ankle at a rugby practice for the Colts team that I am coaching, when I stood on a loose piece of turf during a game of touch rugby. You must be kidding! I was really beginning to wonder if someone or somthing was trying to tell me to give up altogether. That put me out for another couple of days and by the end of the week I was also needing to rest my ankle again.
That was Friday last week and I had the Balclutha Half Marathon on Sunday. Somewhat foolhardily, I figured that I'd still give it a go and not only that, I set myself an ambitious target to shave some significant time off my PB.
Given the last month's events, I have no idea why I was so sure that I would be able to get anywhere near a PB, but I was very confident. I set the following targets for my splits:
5km 23:00 (all down hill)
10km 46:30
15km 70:30
20km 95:00
21.1km 101-102 (the last km is a real slog up hill)
To my very pleasant surprise, here is what I managed to do:
5km 21:57 (PB by 64 seconds)
10km 45:20 (PB by 2:34)
21.1k 101:02 (PB by 3:45 – based on corrected Cromwell time, only 1:34 better than actual Cromwell time, but it is definitely a shorter course)
In the meantime my weight is doing some weird things - up on Mondays and down on Thursdays, swinging as much as 2.5kg in 3 or 4 days. The upshot is that I have been hovering either side of 99kg for more than a month (as low as 98.2kg last Thursday and as high as 100.7kg the Monday before that). As is normal for me I am struggling a little with the nutrition plan. I am probably about 90% to plan, but it is the 10% that is letting me down. A 1:41 half marathon, though, has really spurred me on to lose more weight and acheive a 1:30 half marathon in the relatively near future.
Thankfully the swelling and pain disappeared within a few days and just a few days later I managed to run a PB for 5km in training and things were looking up again. Then, just 3 days later I rolled my ankle at a rugby practice for the Colts team that I am coaching, when I stood on a loose piece of turf during a game of touch rugby. You must be kidding! I was really beginning to wonder if someone or somthing was trying to tell me to give up altogether. That put me out for another couple of days and by the end of the week I was also needing to rest my ankle again.
That was Friday last week and I had the Balclutha Half Marathon on Sunday. Somewhat foolhardily, I figured that I'd still give it a go and not only that, I set myself an ambitious target to shave some significant time off my PB.
Given the last month's events, I have no idea why I was so sure that I would be able to get anywhere near a PB, but I was very confident. I set the following targets for my splits:
5km 23:00 (all down hill)
10km 46:30
15km 70:30
20km 95:00
21.1km 101-102 (the last km is a real slog up hill)
To my very pleasant surprise, here is what I managed to do:
5km 21:57 (PB by 64 seconds)
10km 45:20 (PB by 2:34)
15km 70:01
(PB by 3:15)
20km 95:16 (PB by 3:36)21.1k 101:02 (PB by 3:45 – based on corrected Cromwell time, only 1:34 better than actual Cromwell time, but it is definitely a shorter course)
I am stoked that I was able to achieve the pretty ambitious
splits that I had set myself. The first part was faster than I had hoped to be
doing as I got with a bunch that I could comfortably keep up with (and at times
I even pushed them along a little). At about 3km I contemplated slowing to my
target pace, but I felt strong and was able to stay with the bunch right
through to 10-12km mark (when the group disintegrated anyway). Just as well I pushed a little harder for the first 10km as I was a little off target for the
second and third 5km blocks. In the back of my mind I actually had
1:40 as my dream time for the day, but I knew that the last hill would be a
major hurdle in achieving that. I gave it a bloody good nudge though. It wasn’t
the perfect race, but getting up there in terms of knowing what my physical
limits were and going right to those limits. I know that on the day I simply
could not have gone any faster at any point of the race and I have never felt
that before.
Average pace overall 4:47 min/km (11sec/km faster than
my previous best pace).
In the meantime my weight is doing some weird things - up on Mondays and down on Thursdays, swinging as much as 2.5kg in 3 or 4 days. The upshot is that I have been hovering either side of 99kg for more than a month (as low as 98.2kg last Thursday and as high as 100.7kg the Monday before that). As is normal for me I am struggling a little with the nutrition plan. I am probably about 90% to plan, but it is the 10% that is letting me down. A 1:41 half marathon, though, has really spurred me on to lose more weight and acheive a 1:30 half marathon in the relatively near future.
02 June 2011
Rediscovering my Mojo
Since my last post, almost three weeks ago, I have done almost no training. First, I got a cold that knocked me for six and then I completely lost any drive to train.
I simply loathed the thought of going to the pool and doing what seemed like endless laps and I really struggled to get any motivation to drag the bike out of the garage. However, I have managed a few runs over the last few weeks and actually really enjoyed them. In fact, I am craving just heading out and just running for as long as my legs carry me.
I can't pinpoint exactly why my motivation has diappeared, but I think that it is a reflection of a number of things. In an email to Coach Geoff, I wrote:
1: I think I am physically run down
My physical condition is not that flash at the moment. Aside from the cold, I have had a number of sores on my face and in my nose and I generally feel lethargic. My cuboid problem persists and my hip is not 100% yet either. I think this has been building for a while as I had been getting to Thursday each week of training and pretty much not having any energy at all for Thursday and Friday training. I am pretty sure this is a sign that I am physically run down.
3: There is uncertainty around my ultimate training goal for this year
I am not sure whether I am going to be able to complete the training necessary for the full Challenge as there are some uncertainties around work and I don't know what demands it will place on my time. This is in the back of my mind all of the time when I train and makes it hard to commit to the session that I am doing
The comment was posted anonymously in response to my last post and went like this: "Oh pleeease!! Your times are very average, your trumpet blowing is getting annoying....spare us all!" I know I shouldn't have let it effect me, but it did. I deleted it as soon as I read it! I got angry! I felt depressed! But deep down I knew this hurt because it was true. I am nothing more than a very average athlete and right now there is nothing I could do about that.
In the past I would have used this sort of thing as motivation to spur me on, to train harder, to be faster. This time, though, I curled up in a (metaphorical) corner in self-pity.
On Tuesday, though, I rediscovered my mojo. I gave a lecture (the last of four on Challange Wanaka) to about 50 sports tourism students using excerpts from my blog to illustrate the emotional experiences of a Challenge athlete. As I read some passages, a lump came to my throat and my voice started to quiver. I got through, finishing about 10 minutes ahead of time, but exhausted and emotionally drained from the experience. As I did, a single clap came from the back of the room and then the entire class burst into brief, but heartfelt, applause. I nearly lost it right then and there, but managed to hold my composure. Then, in the lift back to my office, one of the young woman from the class said "That was a really inspirational lecture, thanks." In the two days since I have received two wonderful emails from two other members of the class thanking me for my lecture and for inspiring them to achieve. It felt fantastic!
Geoff has also worked out a new regime for me for the next couple of months that will focus primarily on running, with just a couple fo swims and one or two rides. It looks fantastic and has lots of nice short term goals in it to keep me interested. Running more should also assist in dropping my weight.
The outcome of this, however, is that it is unlikely that I will be doing the full Challenge Wanaka event in 2012. I will definitely be doing the Lake Wanaka Half and possibly one or two others over the summer, but, for the moment at least, I am in no state of mind to continue with the training necessary to pull off the full. I am both relieved and saddened at having reached this decision, but I want my next Challenge event to be the best I can possibly do and I know, even this far out, that I am unlikely to be able to give my full effort in 2012. My goal for Challenge is still the same - I want to make the top 20 in my age group - I am just being more realistic about when this might be (notice I said 'might', there is always a chance that I could upgrade my 2012 entry, should Geoff and I decide in a month or two that things are going well enough). Look out in 2013!
To be honest, I am really looking forward to doing the Lake Wanaka Half, as I am likely to be up against several people that I know: Lil Bro' Chris; James Brundell; another James; and even Coach Geoff. This makes me even more determined to be at a lean racing weight and to attain the target of under 20kg.
I've also started helping several mates with their training for various events. Two are old high school mates (Jas Wadsworth and Tony McAuliffe) who want to do the Moro Half Marathon in September, while my brother Chris and a friend from work Andrea Farminer have asked for advice on how to manage their training for the Lake Wanaka Half. It gives me a huge buzz to help these guys. I'm not promising any results, as my advice is pretty general stuff compared to the taylored specifics I get from Geoff. If nothing else it gives them a bit of structure and I am always their to motivate and encourage (or kick up the arse in the case of Tony).
It's been a really tough couple of weeks and I have had to dig really deep to get back on track, but I think that I am now heading off in the right direction, reinvigorated and recharged.
I simply loathed the thought of going to the pool and doing what seemed like endless laps and I really struggled to get any motivation to drag the bike out of the garage. However, I have managed a few runs over the last few weeks and actually really enjoyed them. In fact, I am craving just heading out and just running for as long as my legs carry me.
I can't pinpoint exactly why my motivation has diappeared, but I think that it is a reflection of a number of things. In an email to Coach Geoff, I wrote:
1: I think I am physically run down
My physical condition is not that flash at the moment. Aside from the cold, I have had a number of sores on my face and in my nose and I generally feel lethargic. My cuboid problem persists and my hip is not 100% yet either. I think this has been building for a while as I had been getting to Thursday each week of training and pretty much not having any energy at all for Thursday and Friday training. I am pretty sure this is a sign that I am physically run down.
2: I am mentally drained
This comes not just from training, but from life in general.
A number of things buidling up at work, training, rugby, etc is making life pretty hectic albeit not as
stressful as it has been in the past.3: There is uncertainty around my ultimate training goal for this year
I am not sure whether I am going to be able to complete the training necessary for the full Challenge as there are some uncertainties around work and I don't know what demands it will place on my time. This is in the back of my mind all of the time when I train and makes it hard to commit to the session that I am doing
4: Some of my training no longer excites me
For the first time in well over two years, I dread going out
for training. This is definitely true for swimming, sometimes the case for the
bike, but only very rarely for the running.
5: I crave running
I still enjoy the running and actually feel myself craving
to do some very long runs. I wonder if having a month or so with a focus
on running will reinvigorate me.
6: I still enjoy racing, but...
I received a comment on my blog the other day that has
really kicked me in the guts and burst my bubble.The comment was posted anonymously in response to my last post and went like this: "Oh pleeease!! Your times are very average, your trumpet blowing is getting annoying....spare us all!" I know I shouldn't have let it effect me, but it did. I deleted it as soon as I read it! I got angry! I felt depressed! But deep down I knew this hurt because it was true. I am nothing more than a very average athlete and right now there is nothing I could do about that.
In the past I would have used this sort of thing as motivation to spur me on, to train harder, to be faster. This time, though, I curled up in a (metaphorical) corner in self-pity.
On Tuesday, though, I rediscovered my mojo. I gave a lecture (the last of four on Challange Wanaka) to about 50 sports tourism students using excerpts from my blog to illustrate the emotional experiences of a Challenge athlete. As I read some passages, a lump came to my throat and my voice started to quiver. I got through, finishing about 10 minutes ahead of time, but exhausted and emotionally drained from the experience. As I did, a single clap came from the back of the room and then the entire class burst into brief, but heartfelt, applause. I nearly lost it right then and there, but managed to hold my composure. Then, in the lift back to my office, one of the young woman from the class said "That was a really inspirational lecture, thanks." In the two days since I have received two wonderful emails from two other members of the class thanking me for my lecture and for inspiring them to achieve. It felt fantastic!
Geoff has also worked out a new regime for me for the next couple of months that will focus primarily on running, with just a couple fo swims and one or two rides. It looks fantastic and has lots of nice short term goals in it to keep me interested. Running more should also assist in dropping my weight.
The outcome of this, however, is that it is unlikely that I will be doing the full Challenge Wanaka event in 2012. I will definitely be doing the Lake Wanaka Half and possibly one or two others over the summer, but, for the moment at least, I am in no state of mind to continue with the training necessary to pull off the full. I am both relieved and saddened at having reached this decision, but I want my next Challenge event to be the best I can possibly do and I know, even this far out, that I am unlikely to be able to give my full effort in 2012. My goal for Challenge is still the same - I want to make the top 20 in my age group - I am just being more realistic about when this might be (notice I said 'might', there is always a chance that I could upgrade my 2012 entry, should Geoff and I decide in a month or two that things are going well enough). Look out in 2013!
To be honest, I am really looking forward to doing the Lake Wanaka Half, as I am likely to be up against several people that I know: Lil Bro' Chris; James Brundell; another James; and even Coach Geoff. This makes me even more determined to be at a lean racing weight and to attain the target of under 20kg.
I've also started helping several mates with their training for various events. Two are old high school mates (Jas Wadsworth and Tony McAuliffe) who want to do the Moro Half Marathon in September, while my brother Chris and a friend from work Andrea Farminer have asked for advice on how to manage their training for the Lake Wanaka Half. It gives me a huge buzz to help these guys. I'm not promising any results, as my advice is pretty general stuff compared to the taylored specifics I get from Geoff. If nothing else it gives them a bit of structure and I am always their to motivate and encourage (or kick up the arse in the case of Tony).
It's been a really tough couple of weeks and I have had to dig really deep to get back on track, but I think that I am now heading off in the right direction, reinvigorated and recharged.
15 May 2011
Gore Half Marathon - flailing arms and heavy breathing
Another little success today. I ran my second fastest half marathon ever, on what is one of the toughest courses I have done. There is a 150 metre vertical climb, with most of the first 9km up hill and then another 1.5km climb at about 11.5km. And, you guessed it, my friend the wind was blowing a nasty head wind in our face for most of the up hill stretches.
I definitely used my Challenge experience to get me up the hills. I chanted "I'm strong in the wind"... "Stay strong" and I was strong on the up-hills. Strangely, though, I found it tough on the down hill stretches as my hammies just didn't want to let me stride out. I guess that comes from all of the riding that I have been doing over the last few months. Strong quads and calves for climbing, but short hamstrings holding me back.
The really good news is that my hips were absolutely fantastic for the first time in... well as long as I can remember. There was no pain and no restricted movement. My right hip has not been free at all since my accident and has been particularly bad for the last few months. Geoff and my osteo (Abby Carrington) have been doing a lot of work on it and Geoff has given me a series of exercises to activate all of the relevant muscles, neurons, etc. It's all working exceptionally well.
I didn't know what to expect today as it has been more than 6 months since I have run a half marathon (the previous being my PB at Cromwell in October), so I am stoked with the result. Little bro', Chris, has been doing some impressive times in training, but I was able to keep pace for the first 5 km and even held a 50-80 metre lead at the 10km mark. A bout of stitch, after a gel and cold water at 10km (sorry Geoff, I know you don't want me using gels), slowed me and put a dint in my confidence. Chris passed me at the bottom of the hill at the 11.5km mark and I let him go, but half way up he started to slow and I gained a few metres back to be less than 50 metres behind.
By the 15km drink station Chris had a 50km lead and just after that powered away to over 100m ahead of me. Shortly after I reeled in a young guy whom had been ahead of me and who was clearly in discomfort for most of the last 10km. As I passed, he asked if this was my first race and I politely let him know that this was my 18th half or full and then, unfortunately, it appeared I had gained a friend for the rest of the race. His form was all over the place as he shook his arms in discomfort every 5m or so and his breathing was irratic and I was sure that I would shake him. But, NO, he bombarded me with a barrage of questions about how far to go, how long it was going to take, what was that beep (as my GPS signalled another km)...
All of this was sapping my energy so I decided that I had to drop him and drop him quick, I put the pedal to the metal and, you guessed it, he stumbled along, arms flailing everywhere and heavy breath grunting in my ear, never more than a pace or two behind me. He was really stuffing up my concentration and in the meantime, Chris was inching away. Then, with Chris about 180-200m ahead, I spotted the 18km drink station and I knew this was my chance to drop my new friend. I wanted to help him, I really did, but he was ruining my chance of clawing back some time on Chris.
I grabbed a drink, took one small gulp (hoping my mate would do the same and slow) and upped the ante as we rounded the corner. My strategy worked. As we round the corner the head wind rose and his breathing intensified and I knew this was the time to make a move. "Strong in the wind", I repeated over and over in my head and I was able to stride away. At the same time, I could see that Chris was struggling ahead and that I was gaining on him ever so slowly. I was careful not to go too hard too soon, but I was confident I could rein him in.
At about 19.5km, I was 120m or so behind Chris and I lifted the pace and was really happy to feel the pace quicken substantially and I began to reel him in. I was taking big chunks out and as he rounded the last corner, with what I thought was about 500m to go, I was only 30-40m behind. I knew he was mine. I could tell he had nothing else left as we'd done training runs together where I'd practiced exactly this scenario. I round the corner and... 'bloody hell, that's far too close' ... the finish line was less than half the distance that I expected.
I now knew that, barring a trip or stumble from Chris, I'd really struggle to pip him at the post (something I'd played over in my head on a number of occasions). I still gave it a bloody good nudge though and finished 10 seconds behind.
In the end, I finished in 1:45:23 (on a course that was 300 metres short, DAMN IT) and Chris finished in 1:45:13, a whooping 6:22 faster than his previous PB. Well done, Chris! That's 2:2, as far as half marathons go between us, but I am still 30 minutes ahead on aggregate time. Bring on 26 June and the Clutha Half Marathon!
I definitely used my Challenge experience to get me up the hills. I chanted "I'm strong in the wind"... "Stay strong" and I was strong on the up-hills. Strangely, though, I found it tough on the down hill stretches as my hammies just didn't want to let me stride out. I guess that comes from all of the riding that I have been doing over the last few months. Strong quads and calves for climbing, but short hamstrings holding me back.
The really good news is that my hips were absolutely fantastic for the first time in... well as long as I can remember. There was no pain and no restricted movement. My right hip has not been free at all since my accident and has been particularly bad for the last few months. Geoff and my osteo (Abby Carrington) have been doing a lot of work on it and Geoff has given me a series of exercises to activate all of the relevant muscles, neurons, etc. It's all working exceptionally well.
I didn't know what to expect today as it has been more than 6 months since I have run a half marathon (the previous being my PB at Cromwell in October), so I am stoked with the result. Little bro', Chris, has been doing some impressive times in training, but I was able to keep pace for the first 5 km and even held a 50-80 metre lead at the 10km mark. A bout of stitch, after a gel and cold water at 10km (sorry Geoff, I know you don't want me using gels), slowed me and put a dint in my confidence. Chris passed me at the bottom of the hill at the 11.5km mark and I let him go, but half way up he started to slow and I gained a few metres back to be less than 50 metres behind.
By the 15km drink station Chris had a 50km lead and just after that powered away to over 100m ahead of me. Shortly after I reeled in a young guy whom had been ahead of me and who was clearly in discomfort for most of the last 10km. As I passed, he asked if this was my first race and I politely let him know that this was my 18th half or full and then, unfortunately, it appeared I had gained a friend for the rest of the race. His form was all over the place as he shook his arms in discomfort every 5m or so and his breathing was irratic and I was sure that I would shake him. But, NO, he bombarded me with a barrage of questions about how far to go, how long it was going to take, what was that beep (as my GPS signalled another km)...
All of this was sapping my energy so I decided that I had to drop him and drop him quick, I put the pedal to the metal and, you guessed it, he stumbled along, arms flailing everywhere and heavy breath grunting in my ear, never more than a pace or two behind me. He was really stuffing up my concentration and in the meantime, Chris was inching away. Then, with Chris about 180-200m ahead, I spotted the 18km drink station and I knew this was my chance to drop my new friend. I wanted to help him, I really did, but he was ruining my chance of clawing back some time on Chris.
I grabbed a drink, took one small gulp (hoping my mate would do the same and slow) and upped the ante as we rounded the corner. My strategy worked. As we round the corner the head wind rose and his breathing intensified and I knew this was the time to make a move. "Strong in the wind", I repeated over and over in my head and I was able to stride away. At the same time, I could see that Chris was struggling ahead and that I was gaining on him ever so slowly. I was careful not to go too hard too soon, but I was confident I could rein him in.
At about 19.5km, I was 120m or so behind Chris and I lifted the pace and was really happy to feel the pace quicken substantially and I began to reel him in. I was taking big chunks out and as he rounded the last corner, with what I thought was about 500m to go, I was only 30-40m behind. I knew he was mine. I could tell he had nothing else left as we'd done training runs together where I'd practiced exactly this scenario. I round the corner and... 'bloody hell, that's far too close' ... the finish line was less than half the distance that I expected.
I now knew that, barring a trip or stumble from Chris, I'd really struggle to pip him at the post (something I'd played over in my head on a number of occasions). I still gave it a bloody good nudge though and finished 10 seconds behind.
In the end, I finished in 1:45:23 (on a course that was 300 metres short, DAMN IT) and Chris finished in 1:45:13, a whooping 6:22 faster than his previous PB. Well done, Chris! That's 2:2, as far as half marathons go between us, but I am still 30 minutes ahead on aggregate time. Bring on 26 June and the Clutha Half Marathon!
04 May 2011
Double digits
I'm stoked to have finally moved back into double figures... this time for good.
This morning I took a sneak peek on the scales (I normally weigh-in on Thursday and Monday) and I was pleasantly surprised to read 99.5kg. That's the lightest I have been since about 1998! I was around 99.7 last November but was over 100 by race day and crept back up to 106 by March.
The next target is % body fat lower than % muscle mass. I've been slowly watching the two lines converge on the graph that I plot from my scales (body fat getting lower and muscle mass getting higher) and there is now only a 2% difference between the two figures.
After that 90kg is my big target as I haven't been less than 91kg in at least 22 years. Then the next serious target is 83.5kg which is 'normal' BMI for my height. I haven't been a 'normal' weight since I was about 10!
I've been losing an average of just under 1kg per week so at this rate it is conceivable that by August I could be at a normal weight. Given how much stronger I feel already having lost 6.5kg in the last 6.5 weeks, I can't wait to be in the 80s.
I had an awesome run session yesterday after a 2 hour ride on the bike. I felt very strong and was able to easily turn it into a progressive effort, starting out at about 5:26 pace for the first km while I found my run legs again and working up to 4:43 pace for the last of 6kms. It felt great to have spring in my legs and energy to burn...
The battle of the bulge is underway and so far I am winning; slowly, but I am winning.
This morning I took a sneak peek on the scales (I normally weigh-in on Thursday and Monday) and I was pleasantly surprised to read 99.5kg. That's the lightest I have been since about 1998! I was around 99.7 last November but was over 100 by race day and crept back up to 106 by March.
The next target is % body fat lower than % muscle mass. I've been slowly watching the two lines converge on the graph that I plot from my scales (body fat getting lower and muscle mass getting higher) and there is now only a 2% difference between the two figures.
After that 90kg is my big target as I haven't been less than 91kg in at least 22 years. Then the next serious target is 83.5kg which is 'normal' BMI for my height. I haven't been a 'normal' weight since I was about 10!
I've been losing an average of just under 1kg per week so at this rate it is conceivable that by August I could be at a normal weight. Given how much stronger I feel already having lost 6.5kg in the last 6.5 weeks, I can't wait to be in the 80s.
I had an awesome run session yesterday after a 2 hour ride on the bike. I felt very strong and was able to easily turn it into a progressive effort, starting out at about 5:26 pace for the first km while I found my run legs again and working up to 4:43 pace for the last of 6kms. It felt great to have spring in my legs and energy to burn...
The battle of the bulge is underway and so far I am winning; slowly, but I am winning.
26 April 2011
Dangerous
Today I went out on an easy 2 hour ride, followed by an easy 15 minute run. It was a very cool, yet beautiful, calm afternoon and I was enjoying the opportunity to just turn the legs over and enjoy the scenery.
I wasn't slacking by any stretch of the imagination - I was averaging about 29km/h and keeping a nice steady cadence - but I was aware that the weekend had been quite a big effort (Lake Hayes Tri and a couple of 10km runs) and I needed to give my legs an opportunity to recover. That was until I got back to Portobello on the way back to town.
As I headed past the pub, I spotted a cyclist coming down off the hill from the high road over the Otago Peninsula. I swear she fluttered her eyelashes under her dark glasses and a broad smile spread across her face. As a red-blooded male, I nodded in acknowledgement, smiled back, pumped out the chest and picked up the pace a little as I sped on by.
I thought to myself, 'I bet she is going to try and tack on behind me to get a lift back to town', so I took my drink bottle out of its cage and slowed (just a little) to see if she would catch up. Sure enough within 500 metres or so she was right on my tail.
I picked up the pace to about 37 km/h just to show that I was no slouch. She easily kept pace and a couple of kilometres down the road, blonde pony tail flowing behind her, she went past me as if I was standing still.
GAME ON!
Having initially been attracted to cycling together by the usual "guy-thing" (a young, attractive, athletic blonde - apologies to my female readers, I am not a chauvinist, just too honest for my own good), I was now also in a duel to protect my ego. No way could I just drop off and let her ride off into the distance. I'd started this push and I had to finish it.
For the next ten kilometres into the wind we sped along at 37-41 km/h and, if the pace dropped anywhere near 35km/h, the person at the rear sprinted to the front and lifted the pace again. It was a great effort by both of us, but I knew I was going too hard for the easy session that I was supposed to be having.
Thank goodness she stopped when she did, because I would have had no legs left to do my run if we'd carried on the rest of the 5 kilometres to the end of the Peninsula. She sat up and said "This is me. Thanks, mate." I replied with my own "Thanks, mate" and carried on until I was out of sight around the next corner and then dropped the pace back to 25km/h.
It took me a full 10 minutes to get my run legs when I got off the bike and the whole run was a real struggle, so I knew that I had definitely pushed too hard.
I know... I'm a sad bastard, but every guy I know would have done exactly the same thing. It's just that I am the only one stupid enough to write about it and publish it for the world to read.
I think there is a lesson in this for all of us sad middle-aged men. Never let an attractive woman, half your age, lead you astray!
I wasn't slacking by any stretch of the imagination - I was averaging about 29km/h and keeping a nice steady cadence - but I was aware that the weekend had been quite a big effort (Lake Hayes Tri and a couple of 10km runs) and I needed to give my legs an opportunity to recover. That was until I got back to Portobello on the way back to town.
As I headed past the pub, I spotted a cyclist coming down off the hill from the high road over the Otago Peninsula. I swear she fluttered her eyelashes under her dark glasses and a broad smile spread across her face. As a red-blooded male, I nodded in acknowledgement, smiled back, pumped out the chest and picked up the pace a little as I sped on by.
I thought to myself, 'I bet she is going to try and tack on behind me to get a lift back to town', so I took my drink bottle out of its cage and slowed (just a little) to see if she would catch up. Sure enough within 500 metres or so she was right on my tail.
I picked up the pace to about 37 km/h just to show that I was no slouch. She easily kept pace and a couple of kilometres down the road, blonde pony tail flowing behind her, she went past me as if I was standing still.
GAME ON!
Having initially been attracted to cycling together by the usual "guy-thing" (a young, attractive, athletic blonde - apologies to my female readers, I am not a chauvinist, just too honest for my own good), I was now also in a duel to protect my ego. No way could I just drop off and let her ride off into the distance. I'd started this push and I had to finish it.
For the next ten kilometres into the wind we sped along at 37-41 km/h and, if the pace dropped anywhere near 35km/h, the person at the rear sprinted to the front and lifted the pace again. It was a great effort by both of us, but I knew I was going too hard for the easy session that I was supposed to be having.
Thank goodness she stopped when she did, because I would have had no legs left to do my run if we'd carried on the rest of the 5 kilometres to the end of the Peninsula. She sat up and said "This is me. Thanks, mate." I replied with my own "Thanks, mate" and carried on until I was out of sight around the next corner and then dropped the pace back to 25km/h.
It took me a full 10 minutes to get my run legs when I got off the bike and the whole run was a real struggle, so I knew that I had definitely pushed too hard.
I know... I'm a sad bastard, but every guy I know would have done exactly the same thing. It's just that I am the only one stupid enough to write about it and publish it for the world to read.
I think there is a lesson in this for all of us sad middle-aged men. Never let an attractive woman, half your age, lead you astray!
15 April 2011
Two steps forward, one step back
Bummer, I have an injury!
It was a big weekend on the bike with three two-hour sessions totalling 175km. It was great, but my lower back and hip were bloody sore once I cooled down after the second ride and I knew somethign was up. I had hurt my hip at school camp, tackling a 9 year old a month earlier (I know, what the hell was I doing tackling a 9 year old?) and managed to do much the same thing last Wednesday at U9s rugby practice (I'm a slow learner).
On Monday, I got out of bed feeling like a dottery 90 year old and took an age to get moving, then getting off the toilet my back went a very painful spasm (as it had every few days for the last month). That wasn't the worst of it though, my shoe laces were the final straw and I could not strighten up again. It was agony and I knew that it wasn't good.
Long story short, I ended up at an osteopath (Abby at BodyWise Osteopathy) who did wonders, but I have struggled with sitting, standing and swimming all week. Strangely running is okay and has even been encouraged by Abby, but I have really had to take it easy in the pool and on the bike and had to flag the bike altogether today as I am extremely sore after Abby worked on me yesterday.
I'm still hoping to be okay for the Lake Hayes Triathlon next Friday, but will not push it and if I am not 100%, I'll give it a miss. It's a bit frustrating as I had felt that I have been really getting back into the groove.
My weight loss is also a bit up and down. I lose anywhere up to 2kgs Monday to Thursday each week and then lose my self control on the weekend and put 800g to 1kg back on by Monday. The upshot is that, as of yesterday, I have lost 5kgs in four and half weeks. That's pretty good really, but if I had been able to maintain the control over the weekend, I could have lost 8-10kgs. I am 101kgs now and hoping for under 100kg for next Friday, which will be the lightest I've been for a race in several months and at this rate I will be 90kg before I know it.
It was a big weekend on the bike with three two-hour sessions totalling 175km. It was great, but my lower back and hip were bloody sore once I cooled down after the second ride and I knew somethign was up. I had hurt my hip at school camp, tackling a 9 year old a month earlier (I know, what the hell was I doing tackling a 9 year old?) and managed to do much the same thing last Wednesday at U9s rugby practice (I'm a slow learner).
On Monday, I got out of bed feeling like a dottery 90 year old and took an age to get moving, then getting off the toilet my back went a very painful spasm (as it had every few days for the last month). That wasn't the worst of it though, my shoe laces were the final straw and I could not strighten up again. It was agony and I knew that it wasn't good.
Long story short, I ended up at an osteopath (Abby at BodyWise Osteopathy) who did wonders, but I have struggled with sitting, standing and swimming all week. Strangely running is okay and has even been encouraged by Abby, but I have really had to take it easy in the pool and on the bike and had to flag the bike altogether today as I am extremely sore after Abby worked on me yesterday.
I'm still hoping to be okay for the Lake Hayes Triathlon next Friday, but will not push it and if I am not 100%, I'll give it a miss. It's a bit frustrating as I had felt that I have been really getting back into the groove.
My weight loss is also a bit up and down. I lose anywhere up to 2kgs Monday to Thursday each week and then lose my self control on the weekend and put 800g to 1kg back on by Monday. The upshot is that, as of yesterday, I have lost 5kgs in four and half weeks. That's pretty good really, but if I had been able to maintain the control over the weekend, I could have lost 8-10kgs. I am 101kgs now and hoping for under 100kg for next Friday, which will be the lightest I've been for a race in several months and at this rate I will be 90kg before I know it.
03 April 2011
Stop looking, I've found them...
You can all stop looking now, I've finally found my training legs (and arms for that matter).
A great week of training this week (first time over 10 hours since race day) and today I finally felt like I was making some headway again. It began with an excellent swim session on Friday when I belted out a set of 13 100s 5-10 seconds faster than I had been managing for the previous 3 weeks and faster than I have ever done.
Yesterday wasn't so flash as my right hip was so sore that I ended up spending the end of the day laying on the sofa, but today I went a little off-piste (away from my training schedule) and did a reasonably long and hard brick session (1:45 bike and 30 minute run).
It felt great just going for it as I felt. I was training with Chris and James and at various points along the way, I decided to put the foot down to try and see how much of a jump I could get on them. I felt extra strong and confident and free. It was awesome.
I'm not planning to be so reckless all the time, but it was good to blow the cobwebs out just this once.
The next race is coming up in under 3 weeks so I'll be keen to see how well I can progress over that time, as even though last weekend went well, I actually didn't feel that it was up to the potential that I have built up through last year's training. Bring on the Lake Hayes Tri on Good Friday!
A great week of training this week (first time over 10 hours since race day) and today I finally felt like I was making some headway again. It began with an excellent swim session on Friday when I belted out a set of 13 100s 5-10 seconds faster than I had been managing for the previous 3 weeks and faster than I have ever done.
Yesterday wasn't so flash as my right hip was so sore that I ended up spending the end of the day laying on the sofa, but today I went a little off-piste (away from my training schedule) and did a reasonably long and hard brick session (1:45 bike and 30 minute run).
It felt great just going for it as I felt. I was training with Chris and James and at various points along the way, I decided to put the foot down to try and see how much of a jump I could get on them. I felt extra strong and confident and free. It was awesome.
I'm not planning to be so reckless all the time, but it was good to blow the cobwebs out just this once.
The next race is coming up in under 3 weeks so I'll be keen to see how well I can progress over that time, as even though last weekend went well, I actually didn't feel that it was up to the potential that I have built up through last year's training. Bring on the Lake Hayes Tri on Good Friday!
27 March 2011
Sixth at Otago Champs
I just competed in my first Otago Triathlon Champs. I wasn't expecting much, as longer training runs have really been taking it out of me this week and to be honest I felt like crap all week. Lots of little niggles and legs of lead! It got so bad by the time yesterday came around that I didn't train at all yesterday because my back and right hip were so sore (plus there was a swim carnival on at the pool by time made it there two hours after I should have started).
In fact I was expecting to be painfully slow in today's race and I fully expected Little Bro' Chris to motor on by somewhere on the run. But, to my surprise I felt great and I did quite well given the lack of an focussed preparation and the extra weight that I am carrying at the moment.
While my swim is still a bit slow, it was way better than the open water race that I did on Tuesday evening. Chris and I actually went stroke for stroke, so I think he has been getting some extra sessions in without telling me. It won't be long and he'll be beating me out of the water. He also beat me out of transition and to be honest at this point I thought: 'Hell, this is worse than I thought. He'll be right with me through the bike leg and he'll overtake me in the run'. But by the time we got a kilometre or so out on the bike, I had gathered up a pretty good head of steam and I passed him pretty easily. I expected him to pick up his effort and try and stay with me, but by the time I glanced behind me another kilometre down the road, I had a few hundred metres on him.
James Brundell (one of my training buddies) was in transition when Chris and I arrived and left about 20 or 30 seconds ahead of us. He was wearing a yellow dayglow bike top so he was easy to spot about 600-700 metres off in the distance, so I set him as my next target. I was pretty sure that Lindsey Dey (Dunedin Tri Club President) was also somewhere near him and I knew both of them were in the vet males section of the race, so I was doubly determined to catch James.
James just beat me into the bike-run transition and that is where I overtook him. Chris was nowhere in sight so I was feeling quite relaxed that I'd put enought distance on him to hold out till the end of the race, but I could see Lindsey a few hundred metres ahead.
I'd passed quite a number of people on the bike and managed to average a touch over 33.5km/h, so I was pretty stoked, but having gone quite hard, the heart was just about leaping out of my chest as I dismounted and I was convinced that my legs would give out on the run. So I figured that I needed to go hard from the start both to try and catch Lindsey (realistically I knew there was no chance of that happening, but what the hey) and to get as much distance on James and Chris as possible to try and maintain my lead over them. It turns out that my legs didn't give out and I was able to maintain a pretty steady pace in the mid-4:50s for the entire 5km (I know its slow, but you try running faster carrying 103kg).
In the end I didn't catch Lindsey (he was probably a minute ahead in the end), but I did manage 1:22:44 overall (my fastest time over the 750m/20km/5km distance) and I beat James by around a minute and Chris by around 2:30. I was sixth vet male! OK, there were only eight vet males, but it is my first go and I didn't exactly train specifically for this race and there were plenty behind me in all age groups. Next year I want to give this a real good nudge and get closer to the top three. It will mean taking about five or so minutes off today's time, but with the planned weight loss, that should be a breeze.
If I'm being honest, Chris is doing pretty bloody well for a complete novice who also carries a few too many kilos around. His swim today really surprised me - he was literally right beside me until about 150 metres from the end, when he veered off course by five or six metres and bumped into a swimming platform anchored in Macandrew Bay (ouch, that's gotta hurt). Actually I was deliberately swimming right on his hip at the point where he veered off in the hope that it might put him off his stroke a little. The plan obviously worked better than I had hoped, but he was still only seconds behind when we both stumbled out of the water. He has also been doing some great 5km times in training so I wasn't surprised that he was a good 50 seconds faster than me on the run. If he can get some more quality time on the bike, I will struggle to keep up with him (Note to self: must stop lending and gear to Chris and giving him training tips). For now though, I am taking the opportunity to give him a hard time about beating him - him being five years my junior and all. :-)
That's one of the things I love about triathlon, you can have all these little races within races: me vs my bro'; me vs James; the vet mens section; the race overall (I always like to see how I stack up against everyone else including the teams); beating someone on the bike leg, even though they may have been faster in the swim and you know they will pass you again on the run. Then there are your own personal achievements: even if you have a bad swim, you can have a great bike or run; you can improve your time for that particular course; you can improve your position relative to the rest of the field (i.e. what percentile you finish in). So, even though I am still down the back of the pack, I still feel like I am acheiving something every single race and I'm lovin' it!
In fact I was expecting to be painfully slow in today's race and I fully expected Little Bro' Chris to motor on by somewhere on the run. But, to my surprise I felt great and I did quite well given the lack of an focussed preparation and the extra weight that I am carrying at the moment.
While my swim is still a bit slow, it was way better than the open water race that I did on Tuesday evening. Chris and I actually went stroke for stroke, so I think he has been getting some extra sessions in without telling me. It won't be long and he'll be beating me out of the water. He also beat me out of transition and to be honest at this point I thought: 'Hell, this is worse than I thought. He'll be right with me through the bike leg and he'll overtake me in the run'. But by the time we got a kilometre or so out on the bike, I had gathered up a pretty good head of steam and I passed him pretty easily. I expected him to pick up his effort and try and stay with me, but by the time I glanced behind me another kilometre down the road, I had a few hundred metres on him.
James Brundell (one of my training buddies) was in transition when Chris and I arrived and left about 20 or 30 seconds ahead of us. He was wearing a yellow dayglow bike top so he was easy to spot about 600-700 metres off in the distance, so I set him as my next target. I was pretty sure that Lindsey Dey (Dunedin Tri Club President) was also somewhere near him and I knew both of them were in the vet males section of the race, so I was doubly determined to catch James.
James just beat me into the bike-run transition and that is where I overtook him. Chris was nowhere in sight so I was feeling quite relaxed that I'd put enought distance on him to hold out till the end of the race, but I could see Lindsey a few hundred metres ahead.
I'd passed quite a number of people on the bike and managed to average a touch over 33.5km/h, so I was pretty stoked, but having gone quite hard, the heart was just about leaping out of my chest as I dismounted and I was convinced that my legs would give out on the run. So I figured that I needed to go hard from the start both to try and catch Lindsey (realistically I knew there was no chance of that happening, but what the hey) and to get as much distance on James and Chris as possible to try and maintain my lead over them. It turns out that my legs didn't give out and I was able to maintain a pretty steady pace in the mid-4:50s for the entire 5km (I know its slow, but you try running faster carrying 103kg).
In the end I didn't catch Lindsey (he was probably a minute ahead in the end), but I did manage 1:22:44 overall (my fastest time over the 750m/20km/5km distance) and I beat James by around a minute and Chris by around 2:30. I was sixth vet male! OK, there were only eight vet males, but it is my first go and I didn't exactly train specifically for this race and there were plenty behind me in all age groups. Next year I want to give this a real good nudge and get closer to the top three. It will mean taking about five or so minutes off today's time, but with the planned weight loss, that should be a breeze.
If I'm being honest, Chris is doing pretty bloody well for a complete novice who also carries a few too many kilos around. His swim today really surprised me - he was literally right beside me until about 150 metres from the end, when he veered off course by five or six metres and bumped into a swimming platform anchored in Macandrew Bay (ouch, that's gotta hurt). Actually I was deliberately swimming right on his hip at the point where he veered off in the hope that it might put him off his stroke a little. The plan obviously worked better than I had hoped, but he was still only seconds behind when we both stumbled out of the water. He has also been doing some great 5km times in training so I wasn't surprised that he was a good 50 seconds faster than me on the run. If he can get some more quality time on the bike, I will struggle to keep up with him (Note to self: must stop lending and gear to Chris and giving him training tips). For now though, I am taking the opportunity to give him a hard time about beating him - him being five years my junior and all. :-)
That's one of the things I love about triathlon, you can have all these little races within races: me vs my bro'; me vs James; the vet mens section; the race overall (I always like to see how I stack up against everyone else including the teams); beating someone on the bike leg, even though they may have been faster in the swim and you know they will pass you again on the run. Then there are your own personal achievements: even if you have a bad swim, you can have a great bike or run; you can improve your time for that particular course; you can improve your position relative to the rest of the field (i.e. what percentile you finish in). So, even though I am still down the back of the pack, I still feel like I am acheiving something every single race and I'm lovin' it!
21 March 2011
Back online
Just finished my first full week of training for about four weeks and started on a nutritional regime that should see me in better shape for Challenge 2012. So I am back online training and blogging.
I blatted out almost 7.5 hours of training last week and eat so much I felt like I had something in my mouth all day and half the night. Something worked though, because I lost almost 2kgs.
I'm also in the process of buying a timetrial bike so that I can go faster. Well, so I can kid myself that I am going faster. It's a bit like red cars going faster than other colours, really. The reality is it's the engine that counts and I am in the process of up grading that to a lighter more powerful version too!
I know that I promised a race report and that is on it's way soon too. So watch this space.
I blatted out almost 7.5 hours of training last week and eat so much I felt like I had something in my mouth all day and half the night. Something worked though, because I lost almost 2kgs.
I'm also in the process of buying a timetrial bike so that I can go faster. Well, so I can kid myself that I am going faster. It's a bit like red cars going faster than other colours, really. The reality is it's the engine that counts and I am in the process of up grading that to a lighter more powerful version too!
I know that I promised a race report and that is on it's way soon too. So watch this space.
31 January 2011
In the press again
On Sunday 30 Jan little bro', Chris and I featured on Contact Tri TV (http://tvnz.co.nz/contact-tri-tv/video) and then an article about us appeared in the latest TriNZ newsletter (http://www.triathlon.org.nz/news?id=95).
30 January 2011
A new beginning
Well, I have my first month of training from Coach Geoff as I set out on a new adventure for the year. It's recovery mode for a few weeks yet, but now that I have completed my first iron-distance race, I am starting to believe in my ability to become more of an athlete.
I have a whole new perspective on training, on my limits (and how my perceptions of what they are have always held me back) and what I might be capable of. In most areas of my life I have always believed that anything is possible if you work hard enough, but never really felt that to be true of my athletic prowess. NOW, I BELIEVE!
This year I have some ambitious goals and I am going to pick them off as the year unfolds:
1) First and foremost I am going to get my weight down to something that is going to allow me to be faster and stronger. That means loosing another 20-25kg so that I am under 80kg - a weight I haven't been since I was about 16 years old. I can't imagine what that will be like, but I know that at very least I will be much faster than I am now.
2) A sub 1:30 half marathon before the end of the year. Given the planned level of weight loss, that should be a breeze (1kg is usually equated to 2-3 sec per km and my PB stands at just under 1:45), but I know that I am still going to have to work hard to achieve this.
3) A 3:40 marathon. This is a conservative target (if I attempt this at my goal weight) but, as I will also be training for Challenge 2012, my guess is it will be hard to fit in too much marathon-specific training. This will be more than 50 minutes off my PB.
4) Top 20 in my age group for Challenge 2012. This will require a more than 3 hour improvement on 2011 and somehow trying to overcome the cramping issues that I faced this year. In fact the cramping should deal with most of the time I need to make up and the weight loss a significant amount more.
None of this is going to be easy, but the rewards will be huge. I love what I have learnt over the last 12 months and I want to use it to become leaner, stronger, faster and more ambitious. I no longer accept that I am a back of the pack athlete for life. This year is all about working hard to move my way through the pack and I have longer term ambitions to make it close to the head of the field. The 'Good-on-ya-big-guy' that people have been encouraging over the last couple of years is going to become someone to be taken a bit more seriously.
Race reports are on the way, but I don't have consistent internet access at the moment and I have been busy with work and catching up on lost family time.
I have a whole new perspective on training, on my limits (and how my perceptions of what they are have always held me back) and what I might be capable of. In most areas of my life I have always believed that anything is possible if you work hard enough, but never really felt that to be true of my athletic prowess. NOW, I BELIEVE!
This year I have some ambitious goals and I am going to pick them off as the year unfolds:
1) First and foremost I am going to get my weight down to something that is going to allow me to be faster and stronger. That means loosing another 20-25kg so that I am under 80kg - a weight I haven't been since I was about 16 years old. I can't imagine what that will be like, but I know that at very least I will be much faster than I am now.
2) A sub 1:30 half marathon before the end of the year. Given the planned level of weight loss, that should be a breeze (1kg is usually equated to 2-3 sec per km and my PB stands at just under 1:45), but I know that I am still going to have to work hard to achieve this.
3) A 3:40 marathon. This is a conservative target (if I attempt this at my goal weight) but, as I will also be training for Challenge 2012, my guess is it will be hard to fit in too much marathon-specific training. This will be more than 50 minutes off my PB.
4) Top 20 in my age group for Challenge 2012. This will require a more than 3 hour improvement on 2011 and somehow trying to overcome the cramping issues that I faced this year. In fact the cramping should deal with most of the time I need to make up and the weight loss a significant amount more.
None of this is going to be easy, but the rewards will be huge. I love what I have learnt over the last 12 months and I want to use it to become leaner, stronger, faster and more ambitious. I no longer accept that I am a back of the pack athlete for life. This year is all about working hard to move my way through the pack and I have longer term ambitions to make it close to the head of the field. The 'Good-on-ya-big-guy' that people have been encouraging over the last couple of years is going to become someone to be taken a bit more seriously.
Race reports are on the way, but I don't have consistent internet access at the moment and I have been busy with work and catching up on lost family time.
18 January 2011
I Knocked the Bastard Off
Just a very quick post to say that I am no longer semi-ironman, I am an ironman (even if it is not an ironman branded race).
Race conditions have been described as the worst for an iron distance race ever and the winds were worse than Kona. It was simply brutal.
For me it became simply a battle to survive, even though I had done extremely well on the ride (142nd overall of almost 400 starters). At the 8 hour mark I started to cramp in my inner thighs and after the first kilometre of the run it was with me constantly. I was forced to simply walk/jog to manage the cramp which came on everytime I went up or down hill, which on an undulating course made for very slow going. My marathon was 2 hours longer than it should have been and I am pretty gutted about that as, besides the cramp, my legs were feeliung great when I dismounted the bike.
A full run down of race lead up, race day and post race will follow over the coming weeks, but for now all you need to know is I finished in 15:07:13 and, because I was forced to walk the marathon, I have a bit of unfinished business.
This is not the end, it is just the beginning.
Race conditions have been described as the worst for an iron distance race ever and the winds were worse than Kona. It was simply brutal.
For me it became simply a battle to survive, even though I had done extremely well on the ride (142nd overall of almost 400 starters). At the 8 hour mark I started to cramp in my inner thighs and after the first kilometre of the run it was with me constantly. I was forced to simply walk/jog to manage the cramp which came on everytime I went up or down hill, which on an undulating course made for very slow going. My marathon was 2 hours longer than it should have been and I am pretty gutted about that as, besides the cramp, my legs were feeliung great when I dismounted the bike.
A full run down of race lead up, race day and post race will follow over the coming weeks, but for now all you need to know is I finished in 15:07:13 and, because I was forced to walk the marathon, I have a bit of unfinished business.
This is not the end, it is just the beginning.
11 January 2011
06 January 2011
Reflection not so easy
I thought reflection was going to be a relatively easy and somewhat liberating exercise, but to be honest rather than looking back I am entirely focussed on what lies ahead. I guess that’s a good sign as it means that I am focussed on race day.
I find it a bit strange that I am struggling to put into words what I have been thinking about for most of the last six months. To an extent, much of it is already out there for all to read, but there is still so much more that has been running through my mind on every ride, every run and every swim.
On the longer sessions a lot of this reflection has lead to momentary emotional boil-overs and there have been many times on long rides and long runs that it has rushed to the surface and tears have streamed down my face. Remembering my first steps as I walked for the first time after my accident; discharging myself from the hospital to get straight on a plane so that I could be with Carleen at her sister’s wedding; being there when James was born; finding out that Carleen was pregnant for the second time and then holding Emma for the first time... – all memories that have come flooding back.
Not all of the emotional up-welling has come from reflection. I have also visualised what it is going to be like as I cross the finish line next Saturday. Raw emotion pulses through me as I see myself entering the finishing chute with Carleen, James and Emma walking over the finish. Mark Watson, from Radio Sport and race commentator, echoing some of his humbling comments about me over the PA. Mum and Dad emotional like they were when I finished my first marathon. Gary & Chris (my brothers) and their families emotional too, as they were also along for the rough ride surrounding my accident. Last, but most definitely not least, Coach Geoff will be standing there as proud as punch – as he should be, he’s done a great job.
I have also thought a lot about Jacqueline Wyatt and her Mum, Paulette, and what they are going through. To be honest, I am torn between wanting to inspire Jacqueline to be more than she ever imagined before despite her circumstances and being fearful that I might be creating too much of an expectation for her that everything will be as it was before. I know she can be more than she was before, but I have no way of knowing if she will ever fully recover. I hope that I am sending the right message and that I can inspire her to be strong whatever lies ahead. For me, any money that I raise for her along the way is simply a bonus.
Right now, though, I just want to get on with it. I am growing increasingly impatient and race day cannot come soon enough. Once again, I'm guessing that is a good sign.
I find it a bit strange that I am struggling to put into words what I have been thinking about for most of the last six months. To an extent, much of it is already out there for all to read, but there is still so much more that has been running through my mind on every ride, every run and every swim.
On the longer sessions a lot of this reflection has lead to momentary emotional boil-overs and there have been many times on long rides and long runs that it has rushed to the surface and tears have streamed down my face. Remembering my first steps as I walked for the first time after my accident; discharging myself from the hospital to get straight on a plane so that I could be with Carleen at her sister’s wedding; being there when James was born; finding out that Carleen was pregnant for the second time and then holding Emma for the first time... – all memories that have come flooding back.
Not all of the emotional up-welling has come from reflection. I have also visualised what it is going to be like as I cross the finish line next Saturday. Raw emotion pulses through me as I see myself entering the finishing chute with Carleen, James and Emma walking over the finish. Mark Watson, from Radio Sport and race commentator, echoing some of his humbling comments about me over the PA. Mum and Dad emotional like they were when I finished my first marathon. Gary & Chris (my brothers) and their families emotional too, as they were also along for the rough ride surrounding my accident. Last, but most definitely not least, Coach Geoff will be standing there as proud as punch – as he should be, he’s done a great job.
I have also thought a lot about Jacqueline Wyatt and her Mum, Paulette, and what they are going through. To be honest, I am torn between wanting to inspire Jacqueline to be more than she ever imagined before despite her circumstances and being fearful that I might be creating too much of an expectation for her that everything will be as it was before. I know she can be more than she was before, but I have no way of knowing if she will ever fully recover. I hope that I am sending the right message and that I can inspire her to be strong whatever lies ahead. For me, any money that I raise for her along the way is simply a bonus.
Right now, though, I just want to get on with it. I am growing increasingly impatient and race day cannot come soon enough. Once again, I'm guessing that is a good sign.
04 January 2011
A time to reflect
Over the next ten days I will take time to reflect on just where I have come from over the past nine and half years.
My last post was a little negative, but to be honest that is how I felt that day. I think it may in fact have been because a part me felt that this journey was just about over. However, since then I have actually come to the realisation that January 15 2011 will be just the beginning.
I feel just like I did once I was through the worst of my accident - I have been given a second chance at life, so I am going to make the most of it. It took my a while to figure out just what that meant, but I think that I have finally got it and Challenge Wanaka is just the start of it.
Over the next ten days I am going to reflect on where this journey has taken me, touching on the what I have learnt since my accident, but especially the stuff that I have learnt since I began my more active life two and half years ago. The posts may not come every day as internet access is not that easy in Hawea, but I will be recording my reflections in posts as they come to me and posting them when I get to the internet cafe.
My last post was a little negative, but to be honest that is how I felt that day. I think it may in fact have been because a part me felt that this journey was just about over. However, since then I have actually come to the realisation that January 15 2011 will be just the beginning.
I feel just like I did once I was through the worst of my accident - I have been given a second chance at life, so I am going to make the most of it. It took my a while to figure out just what that meant, but I think that I have finally got it and Challenge Wanaka is just the start of it.
Over the next ten days I am going to reflect on where this journey has taken me, touching on the what I have learnt since my accident, but especially the stuff that I have learnt since I began my more active life two and half years ago. The posts may not come every day as internet access is not that easy in Hawea, but I will be recording my reflections in posts as they come to me and posting them when I get to the internet cafe.
01 January 2011
Last big weekend
This is the last weekend of long efforts. Today was supposed to be a five and half hour brick (bike to run session) and the day was perfect for it. Low 20 temperatures and light winds but, in short, it was one of my worst training sessions. I had to stop on 4 times on the 4 hour ride and had to get Carleen to come and pick me up as the 4 hours ended when I was in the middle of nowhere. I had under estimated the distance and time that it would take me.
My butt has taken a pasting for the last few weeks and I was saddle sore before I even left which was why I had to stop so often. I had also had two nights of absolutely rubbish sleep as the neighbours partied til the wee hours each of the last two nights.
Once Carleen had me back at the house, a full 25 minutes after I had stopped on the bike, I set off on what was supposed to be a 90 minute run, but I soon got a stitch and stomach cramp and had to walk. I couldn't shake it at all so was pretty slow and decided to pull the pin after 45 minutes.
So, all in all, a crappy start to the weekend. Tomorrow it is into the lake at 6am for a 90 minute session and then straight down to Cromwell for the Lake Dunstan tri. Monday sees the start of my taper and I think my body is well and truly ready for it.
Oh well, not much more that I can do to be prepared for race day. So, if I haven't put in enough work, then it's too late. Now it's just a matter of managing the next two weeks effectively and putting the finer planning details in place (race bags, transitions, etc).
My butt has taken a pasting for the last few weeks and I was saddle sore before I even left which was why I had to stop so often. I had also had two nights of absolutely rubbish sleep as the neighbours partied til the wee hours each of the last two nights.
Once Carleen had me back at the house, a full 25 minutes after I had stopped on the bike, I set off on what was supposed to be a 90 minute run, but I soon got a stitch and stomach cramp and had to walk. I couldn't shake it at all so was pretty slow and decided to pull the pin after 45 minutes.
So, all in all, a crappy start to the weekend. Tomorrow it is into the lake at 6am for a 90 minute session and then straight down to Cromwell for the Lake Dunstan tri. Monday sees the start of my taper and I think my body is well and truly ready for it.
Oh well, not much more that I can do to be prepared for race day. So, if I haven't put in enough work, then it's too late. Now it's just a matter of managing the next two weeks effectively and putting the finer planning details in place (race bags, transitions, etc).
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