The list for this year:
Iz - DVD, wetsuit, hub, ...
Tris - Vittoria Inflate device
Nicole -
Ant Mum -
Ant Dad - software?
Chris -
Carrie -
Nana -
Iz Mum -
Iz Dad - iPod Nano & mm28 speakers
anyone else?
Friday, December 07, 2007
Monday, November 26, 2007
First Tri of the Summer
This may seem like a very silly thing to do but I'm always up for a challenge. A 160Km bike ride on the Saturday and then a Sprint Tri on the Sunday. I knew I would not be setting any records but it was a nice sunny day and it was fun to race to and catchup with some of the old crew...
Maraetai is always a good location and with the weather as good as it was it would be ashame to miss it!
Swam pretty hard, just over 7mins. Tony thought it was short but I do not. I should be able to swim at an average of 1'30" per 100m. It was quite a tough effort though... go out of the water and straight into transition there was not even enough time to get wet suit to the waist as I was so close to the entry... oh well. Got a split, Tony was 30s in front.
Took a bit to get the shoes on but once I got going realised that this was going to be tough! The short climbs really bite. I even got passed, so sat it for a bit then the legs seemed to come right and got going again dropping everyone that was with me. Saw Tony not that far up the road at the turn around. He was going pretty fast and I closed in a bit more but could not catch him...
Into transition 2 Tony was leaving as I was racking my bike. Anyway a quick change into the racing flats (not perfect as the insoles moved) and off for the chase! Closed down very slowly on the Super Coach! He was still in front at the turn around and really nailed it down hill... I held on and past him on the flats just before the hill... put in a bit of an effort up the steep climb and then caught Mark Bowstead at the top... look ahead for the next target but ran out of race.
A good first effort for the season and there are a few things to work on. Looking towards the next one at Mission Bay.
Maraetai is always a good location and with the weather as good as it was it would be ashame to miss it!
Swam pretty hard, just over 7mins. Tony thought it was short but I do not. I should be able to swim at an average of 1'30" per 100m. It was quite a tough effort though... go out of the water and straight into transition there was not even enough time to get wet suit to the waist as I was so close to the entry... oh well. Got a split, Tony was 30s in front.
Took a bit to get the shoes on but once I got going realised that this was going to be tough! The short climbs really bite. I even got passed, so sat it for a bit then the legs seemed to come right and got going again dropping everyone that was with me. Saw Tony not that far up the road at the turn around. He was going pretty fast and I closed in a bit more but could not catch him...
Into transition 2 Tony was leaving as I was racking my bike. Anyway a quick change into the racing flats (not perfect as the insoles moved) and off for the chase! Closed down very slowly on the Super Coach! He was still in front at the turn around and really nailed it down hill... I held on and past him on the flats just before the hill... put in a bit of an effort up the steep climb and then caught Mark Bowstead at the top... look ahead for the next target but ran out of race.
A good first effort for the season and there are a few things to work on. Looking towards the next one at Mission Bay.
Taupo Cycle Challenge 2007
Well another ride around the lake. This makes it 5 for me... was the best one so far too. The day dawned wet and cool but the rain eased, the road dried up and in the end turned out to be a perfect day for riding.
I started in the 1c group, the 3rd one to start and hit the turbo boost right from the first hill! The legs were not feeling that great this year so did not stay away, but tried again and got away just as we were passing the group 1b. I kept on going but was not able to get away from 1b. Sat in for a while and then spent the next 20km lapping it out in an attempt to catch the 1a group.
We caught 1a group at about 50k. Things then slowed down for a while... a couple went of the front. After a while I decided to go with them, then a couple more went off the front after me on a climb... Including Blair Taylor. The three of us lapped it out to catch the front two. We stayed away for about 40Km but things went bad from just after Turangi, nothing left in the tank. We did not work that well together and there was a bit of hammering going on... oh well.
Once we got caught I stayed on the front or close to it to stay out of all the bad bunch riding... but once we got to Hatepe I went backwards fast! Thank fully there were lots of people in the bunch! I just held on and was able to claw my way back up to the front.
Then things got pretty fast and furious and I was just holding on... up over Airport hill I went to the front, then down into Taupo. Got swamped by the bunch and made the decision to go to the back... took a while and there were a few scary moments when I thought things might go bad.
Sure enough a crash happened just as we were coming onto the waterfront - bikes flying in all directions. I avoided it but ended up caught behind the crash and by the time I got around it the bunch was quite a ways up the road. Nothing for it but to TT to the finish... 4hrs 8mins 55secs for a new record and 7th fasted time! Yeah!
I started in the 1c group, the 3rd one to start and hit the turbo boost right from the first hill! The legs were not feeling that great this year so did not stay away, but tried again and got away just as we were passing the group 1b. I kept on going but was not able to get away from 1b. Sat in for a while and then spent the next 20km lapping it out in an attempt to catch the 1a group.
We caught 1a group at about 50k. Things then slowed down for a while... a couple went of the front. After a while I decided to go with them, then a couple more went off the front after me on a climb... Including Blair Taylor. The three of us lapped it out to catch the front two. We stayed away for about 40Km but things went bad from just after Turangi, nothing left in the tank. We did not work that well together and there was a bit of hammering going on... oh well.
Once we got caught I stayed on the front or close to it to stay out of all the bad bunch riding... but once we got to Hatepe I went backwards fast! Thank fully there were lots of people in the bunch! I just held on and was able to claw my way back up to the front.
Then things got pretty fast and furious and I was just holding on... up over Airport hill I went to the front, then down into Taupo. Got swamped by the bunch and made the decision to go to the back... took a while and there were a few scary moments when I thought things might go bad.
Sure enough a crash happened just as we were coming onto the waterfront - bikes flying in all directions. I avoided it but ended up caught behind the crash and by the time I got around it the bunch was quite a ways up the road. Nothing for it but to TT to the finish... 4hrs 8mins 55secs for a new record and 7th fasted time! Yeah!
Thursday, November 22, 2007
First 5K of the summer
Was up in Auckland on Tuesday so I decided to get down to the Loaded Hog and sign up for there 5km run.
Started out quite slowly and picked up the pace... was going quite well for Km 3 and 4. Started to hurt a bit for the last Km. 16'42" in the end so quite pleased. Not a BP though.
Would like to do another one or two before Tauranga but most likely will not be in town again. Will have to do them here in Hamilton instead - that will be quite different as the river walk course will be tougher.
Started out quite slowly and picked up the pace... was going quite well for Km 3 and 4. Started to hurt a bit for the last Km. 16'42" in the end so quite pleased. Not a BP though.
Would like to do another one or two before Tauranga but most likely will not be in town again. Will have to do them here in Hamilton instead - that will be quite different as the river walk course will be tougher.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
K2 2007
Wow what a fantastic day.
KOM and 4th overall.
On the Drops - hanging on for dear life!
Won five of the 7 climbs, including Kopu Hikuai, Pumkin, Mydermanns, Whangapoua, and Manaia. I missed out on Kuaotunu because of a break away (which we nearly caught) and Kerata the last one where I was fourth.
I knew there was not going to be much of a chance winning or bettering the 3rd from last year so early on decided to go for the KOM. I decided this close to the top of the first climb so it was quite a spontaineous decision. It was always going to be a risk though, because when you are riding for over 180Km you never know what is around the corner!
The plan was to just sit in for the climbs and then attack towards the top and hope no one else was willing to go as hard. But if you attack hard for a short period it should - in theory anyway be OK.
This worked for Kopu Hikuai. I saw the 500m to go sign and went for it - no one went with me to start with. A couple tried to bridge and had to put in more effort to stay away.
For Pumpkin James B (I think) went nuts and I was quite worried to start with. He eased off before the top and again I sprinted over the top taking it out (although the officials didn't think so). [We lost James B later on this leg due to a driver trying to pass at the wrong time and the bunch closed up and some braked too hard. He broke his arm.]
Before the next climb there was a break away of 4, including Chris G. I decided to let them go. It was worrying times as three of them got the points on Kuaotunu...
We got them all back together before the next climb although there were a few young fellas that I felt I had to chase down... did not want them having any lead. Darren S lead us up Mydermanns and I sat on him and took the climb with about 200m to go. Not too bad.
Next the BIGGIE of the day. Whangapoua. Again, I just sat in not doing anything stupid. Waiting. Just after seeing the Scenic Lookout sign I went for it and got a good break quickly. Then cruised over the top with the biggest points of the day in the bag! Nice.
All back together and sat in again. there may have been the odd silly move that I needed to make sure did not work... but it all settled down again before Manaia. One guy took off early so I had to chase. There were a few complaints in the group but it settled down. Just like last time I sat in second wheel and took the climb with 300m to go. All Good.
A few of us kept it going - including Matt L and Matt H - and we held a small gap going into the last hill. Kerata. This time I set the pace. Pretty firm too. Only three stayed right with me. This climb is certainly longer than you expect and when leading with a headwind it certainly bit. I started to fade with about 500m to go. The three with me went for the points and I missed out (Matt H, Matt L, and Duncan M got the points).... however, there was havoc being reeked behind me by none other than the infamous Darren S. He just rode across so furiously that no one could go with him (I did here that Scott P tried). Darren caught me just after the first part of the descent - I had plans to sit in the bunch for the ride along the coast to the finish my job done - but Darren was calling me to get on! We went over the short second peak and down to the coast catching two others for a 4 person group including Duncan M and Matt L. Darren then shouts "This is the WINNING break lets go!" I was thinking OH NO! I need a rest! Matt H was still up the road so we started the chase...
To be fair I did sit in for a while, but after the help and not attacking me on the climbs from Darren S, I wanted to help him get to the line... so off we went! Nearly got dropped a couple of times but Darren made everyone wait - but we did loose Matt L. Lapping it out 'till the end was very hard and not for the faint hearted! The photo above is of me hanging on for dear life! With a few hundred meters to go I took the lead and led them out for the sprint. I was fourth over the line and Darren S took the win! Great Effort all 'round (with Matt H 2nd and Duncan M 3rd).
Back next year to defend my KOM Title :)
KOM and 4th overall.
On the Drops - hanging on for dear life!I knew there was not going to be much of a chance winning or bettering the 3rd from last year so early on decided to go for the KOM. I decided this close to the top of the first climb so it was quite a spontaineous decision. It was always going to be a risk though, because when you are riding for over 180Km you never know what is around the corner!
The plan was to just sit in for the climbs and then attack towards the top and hope no one else was willing to go as hard. But if you attack hard for a short period it should - in theory anyway be OK.
This worked for Kopu Hikuai. I saw the 500m to go sign and went for it - no one went with me to start with. A couple tried to bridge and had to put in more effort to stay away.
For Pumpkin James B (I think) went nuts and I was quite worried to start with. He eased off before the top and again I sprinted over the top taking it out (although the officials didn't think so). [We lost James B later on this leg due to a driver trying to pass at the wrong time and the bunch closed up and some braked too hard. He broke his arm.]
Before the next climb there was a break away of 4, including Chris G. I decided to let them go. It was worrying times as three of them got the points on Kuaotunu...
We got them all back together before the next climb although there were a few young fellas that I felt I had to chase down... did not want them having any lead. Darren S lead us up Mydermanns and I sat on him and took the climb with about 200m to go. Not too bad.
Next the BIGGIE of the day. Whangapoua. Again, I just sat in not doing anything stupid. Waiting. Just after seeing the Scenic Lookout sign I went for it and got a good break quickly. Then cruised over the top with the biggest points of the day in the bag! Nice.
All back together and sat in again. there may have been the odd silly move that I needed to make sure did not work... but it all settled down again before Manaia. One guy took off early so I had to chase. There were a few complaints in the group but it settled down. Just like last time I sat in second wheel and took the climb with 300m to go. All Good.
A few of us kept it going - including Matt L and Matt H - and we held a small gap going into the last hill. Kerata. This time I set the pace. Pretty firm too. Only three stayed right with me. This climb is certainly longer than you expect and when leading with a headwind it certainly bit. I started to fade with about 500m to go. The three with me went for the points and I missed out (Matt H, Matt L, and Duncan M got the points).... however, there was havoc being reeked behind me by none other than the infamous Darren S. He just rode across so furiously that no one could go with him (I did here that Scott P tried). Darren caught me just after the first part of the descent - I had plans to sit in the bunch for the ride along the coast to the finish my job done - but Darren was calling me to get on! We went over the short second peak and down to the coast catching two others for a 4 person group including Duncan M and Matt L. Darren then shouts "This is the WINNING break lets go!" I was thinking OH NO! I need a rest! Matt H was still up the road so we started the chase...
To be fair I did sit in for a while, but after the help and not attacking me on the climbs from Darren S, I wanted to help him get to the line... so off we went! Nearly got dropped a couple of times but Darren made everyone wait - but we did loose Matt L. Lapping it out 'till the end was very hard and not for the faint hearted! The photo above is of me hanging on for dear life! With a few hundred meters to go I took the lead and led them out for the sprint. I was fourth over the line and Darren S took the win! Great Effort all 'round (with Matt H 2nd and Duncan M 3rd).
Back next year to defend my KOM Title :)
Nationals Road Champs
114Km race over 4.5 laps.
Nothing much to say about the first small lap. Just sat in. Second lap still hanging around the back of the bunch. Chris G did put in a bit of a effort up the climb and I followed him... Did not come to anything though. There was a break away including Manu early on that no one payed too much attention to...
The third lap and I tried to do a bit of work but nobody else really interested so sat back. It was funny how often I ended up on the front though doing nothing... Up the climb Scott A put in a bit of an effort this time and I passed him towards the end of the climb but still nothing came of it... everyone back together just after the top.
On the forth lap there was a bit of interest in closing down the break away. We did it quite easily in the end once I started the effort and close it down in about 5km. Up the climb it was my turn to but the gas on. Got a small gap and pushed it over the top although all back together a bit further along. Was taking some bigger turns on the front when I got attacked by Paul B. Not much fun. Quite a few attacks went in at this point. Up to the finish Scott A put down the hammer and things got really unpleasant. Thankfully all OK by end of lap.
Last lap there were plenty of attacks over first 10km. I think Scott A, Chris G - which I tried to go with - someone from Morrinsville, and Counties-Manukau... it all settled down for a bit. Then someone from Counties attacked, I was close to the front but there were two Counties guys too and they just let him go. No one else was interested either. I tried lapping it out a couple of times and getting people interested in the chase but to no avail... We turned the corner and with about 15Km to go headed up a gradual climb. I came through for my turn but instead of pulling over to the right just stayed to the left. No one jumped on my wheel and I just quietly rode off the front... Very strange after a couple of minutes I looked back and still no one. I just slightly increased the effort and slowly got further ahead. Then I put in a bigger effort to catch the guy in front. Caught him just before left turn and down to start of main climb. Nailed the next climb nearly dropping the Counties guy, and we carried on not daring to look back... The pace really went on and I was struggling to hold it. Deon N (as it turned out to be) was in good shape on the flat and was able to take a couple of bigger turns to help me get back. I took some turns and we stayed away! Amazing! The last 2Km was the start of gentle climb up to finish. I took the lead and tried to drop Deon N, it nearly worked but I just did not have enough... Deon N got the sprint... Oh well, but really pleased we managed to stay away. :) GREAT RACE one of the best.
Nothing much to say about the first small lap. Just sat in. Second lap still hanging around the back of the bunch. Chris G did put in a bit of a effort up the climb and I followed him... Did not come to anything though. There was a break away including Manu early on that no one payed too much attention to...
The third lap and I tried to do a bit of work but nobody else really interested so sat back. It was funny how often I ended up on the front though doing nothing... Up the climb Scott A put in a bit of an effort this time and I passed him towards the end of the climb but still nothing came of it... everyone back together just after the top.
On the forth lap there was a bit of interest in closing down the break away. We did it quite easily in the end once I started the effort and close it down in about 5km. Up the climb it was my turn to but the gas on. Got a small gap and pushed it over the top although all back together a bit further along. Was taking some bigger turns on the front when I got attacked by Paul B. Not much fun. Quite a few attacks went in at this point. Up to the finish Scott A put down the hammer and things got really unpleasant. Thankfully all OK by end of lap.
Last lap there were plenty of attacks over first 10km. I think Scott A, Chris G - which I tried to go with - someone from Morrinsville, and Counties-Manukau... it all settled down for a bit. Then someone from Counties attacked, I was close to the front but there were two Counties guys too and they just let him go. No one else was interested either. I tried lapping it out a couple of times and getting people interested in the chase but to no avail... We turned the corner and with about 15Km to go headed up a gradual climb. I came through for my turn but instead of pulling over to the right just stayed to the left. No one jumped on my wheel and I just quietly rode off the front... Very strange after a couple of minutes I looked back and still no one. I just slightly increased the effort and slowly got further ahead. Then I put in a bigger effort to catch the guy in front. Caught him just before left turn and down to start of main climb. Nailed the next climb nearly dropping the Counties guy, and we carried on not daring to look back... The pace really went on and I was struggling to hold it. Deon N (as it turned out to be) was in good shape on the flat and was able to take a couple of bigger turns to help me get back. I took some turns and we stayed away! Amazing! The last 2Km was the start of gentle climb up to finish. I took the lead and tried to drop Deon N, it nearly worked but I just did not have enough... Deon N got the sprint... Oh well, but really pleased we managed to stay away. :) GREAT RACE one of the best.
Nationals TT Champs
Not a bad effort! I thought, based on the weeks leading up to the race it was going to be a bit of a waste... Did a time trial test a few weeks before and could only average 280W for 40 minutes. Terrible.
The day was quite windy and the course undulating. I was very happy to average over 41 Km/h for the 25Km and placed 3rd.
Picture post race and slightly dehydrated!
Monday, April 02, 2007
Not a bad day!
Well after a somewhat terrible week with storms and flooding in the North I was worrying about how the weather would turn out. In the end the day dawned sunny and calm.
We started about 15mins late for some reason I was on the right side and got in a good position quickly for an anti clockwise swim (1 km per lap). I could see a couple getting a flier and well beyond me, then a second group formed... I ended up just hanging onto the third group for the first lap. At the end of lap 1 exited the water close to the right and ran along the beach further... this got the heart rate up but also gave me the opportunity to get back into the 3rd group. I swam very hard for the second lap and stayed with this group just loosing touch over the last 300m leg to the beach... A sub 28min swim this is a record for me by heaps. No-one thought the swim was short either! Top 20 swim. Ave HR 155 this was 4bpm higher than Tauranga. A top swim for me!
A sub 1 minute transition got me onto the bike quickly and catching people fast... Was having a few problems though, was not able to drink without it coming back up... yuk!By the time I hit Cleavedon I was in 2nd place... Greg then caught me and I sat on his wheel (legal of course) until the top of snake hill where we got our first split to first (3mins)... The left leg was feeling a bit sore and I was not able to push that hard so was sitting in. Once we got closer to the flat sections at about 50Km I took the lead again and started pushing the pace in the hope of closing the gap. At the turnaround (60K) the gap was only down to about 2 mins, Greg still with me, so I upped the pace again to see If I could drop Greg and reduce the gap to first... Coming back was hard... the three hills and gradual up hill really does hurt the legs. The road is quite rough too that makes it very slow going. Just coming into transition I got past by Mr Strong (first team) and then got a split to first - at least 5mins... Bugger! He must have pushed the pace more seeing how close we were at the turnaround too! 2h27m I think. A good ride in the end but felt really hard and did not drink/eat enough.
Anyhow another quick transition (again under 1 min) got me out onto the run course and fired up to see if I could close the gap... Started fast. Was feeling like a bit of cramp could strike at any moment so took some salt tabets and water on the legs - seems to help. The run course is a three lap out and back so is really good for splits... after 3.5Km the gap was up to 6mins even though I ran it in 13m30s!. Third was about 2mins back. After 7km it was nearly 7mins! Oh well, he was running extremely fast - sub 1hr 20m pace I think.... I was on target for 1h 24m but lost a bit of time on the out leg for the third time... Had to really dig deep last 3k and manage to hold off Greg for second extending to about 4mins.
Ended up with a 1h25m very pleased Total time was 4h22m this is less than 4mins slower than the Tauranga Half so a respectable time I think.... even allowing for a possible short swim - possibly 100m.
Turns out our winner was a German pro, Konstantin , over for some training before their season begins... I think he will do well.
The podium... me, Konstantin, and Greg.
We started about 15mins late for some reason I was on the right side and got in a good position quickly for an anti clockwise swim (1 km per lap). I could see a couple getting a flier and well beyond me, then a second group formed... I ended up just hanging onto the third group for the first lap. At the end of lap 1 exited the water close to the right and ran along the beach further... this got the heart rate up but also gave me the opportunity to get back into the 3rd group. I swam very hard for the second lap and stayed with this group just loosing touch over the last 300m leg to the beach... A sub 28min swim this is a record for me by heaps. No-one thought the swim was short either! Top 20 swim. Ave HR 155 this was 4bpm higher than Tauranga. A top swim for me!
A sub 1 minute transition got me onto the bike quickly and catching people fast... Was having a few problems though, was not able to drink without it coming back up... yuk!By the time I hit Cleavedon I was in 2nd place... Greg then caught me and I sat on his wheel (legal of course) until the top of snake hill where we got our first split to first (3mins)... The left leg was feeling a bit sore and I was not able to push that hard so was sitting in. Once we got closer to the flat sections at about 50Km I took the lead again and started pushing the pace in the hope of closing the gap. At the turnaround (60K) the gap was only down to about 2 mins, Greg still with me, so I upped the pace again to see If I could drop Greg and reduce the gap to first... Coming back was hard... the three hills and gradual up hill really does hurt the legs. The road is quite rough too that makes it very slow going. Just coming into transition I got past by Mr Strong (first team) and then got a split to first - at least 5mins... Bugger! He must have pushed the pace more seeing how close we were at the turnaround too! 2h27m I think. A good ride in the end but felt really hard and did not drink/eat enough.
Anyhow another quick transition (again under 1 min) got me out onto the run course and fired up to see if I could close the gap... Started fast. Was feeling like a bit of cramp could strike at any moment so took some salt tabets and water on the legs - seems to help. The run course is a three lap out and back so is really good for splits... after 3.5Km the gap was up to 6mins even though I ran it in 13m30s!. Third was about 2mins back. After 7km it was nearly 7mins! Oh well, he was running extremely fast - sub 1hr 20m pace I think.... I was on target for 1h 24m but lost a bit of time on the out leg for the third time... Had to really dig deep last 3k and manage to hold off Greg for second extending to about 4mins.
Ended up with a 1h25m very pleased Total time was 4h22m this is less than 4mins slower than the Tauranga Half so a respectable time I think.... even allowing for a possible short swim - possibly 100m.
Turns out our winner was a German pro, Konstantin , over for some training before their season begins... I think he will do well.
The podium... me, Konstantin, and Greg.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Auckland Half IM Race Plan
I have got a pretty straight forward plan this year... Don't f..k up! After last year do not want a repeat...
Gear
----
* Got some new googles TYR technoflex jr clear tried them and are good,
* Will wear my Orca shorts and Xterra black top, familar and comfortable,
* Xterra wetsuit will be good,
* On the bike will use my aero LAS helmet and HED Alps wheels (need and upgrade),
* On the run will don a cap and glasses and my Nike flats,
will take the time to put on a pair of socks.
* Areo bottle on the bars so allow lots of drinking easily...
Food
----
* For the ride will use Leppin squeezes diluted with salt tablets desolved and
* Leppin Enduro booster.
* For the Run will take 3 GUs and have one per lap (beginning) and water/Pro4 first lap then,
* coke/water after that.
* Might have a couple of salt tablets first and second lap too.
Race Plan
---------
Pre race
* Get bike togehter, tyres pumped up, shoes on right pedals,Put fluid into front bottle and,
* Other drink on.
* Put helmet on top of bars with spares and repar kit in it.
* Layout post swim bag for easy storage of gear.
Run bag
* put shoes in heals first with socks in each shoe half inside out,
* then put in cap (with three GU's, salt tablets and sun glasses)
Pre swim
* quick run warm up 10 mins
* put wetsuit on and body glide,
* zip up and get in water for a 5-10m swim warm-up leave no more than 5mins before race.
Swim
* Start on the left away from bad things...
* Swim steady right from the get go... get on someones feet if possible,
* Otherwise concentrate on good stroke and relaxed dps.
* Take a look ever 4th or 5th stroke once going ok.
* Check half way time at 1k and decide if need to swim harder,
* If rough weather then just try to get through without drinking too much water and going off course.
T1
* As coming out water take off top part of wetsuit, unzip and pull off arms
* take off googles and cap and carry
* hit lap button at T1 entry,
* At bike, but googles and cap in swim gear bag,
* Pull off wetsuit, roll up and shove in swim bag,
* get spares and place in top,
* Put helmet on
* unrack bike and head for exit,
Bike
* hit lap button, and start bike speedo,
* jump on bike with left pedal forward, stand on left shoe push forward and get right foot onto right shoe,
* get up to speed and then put left foot in first, then get some more speed on,
* then do right shoe, now go!
* settled, have a drink...
Tactics
* Start strong... put in a bit of effort until 30Km,
* settle in
* steady on the hill but do not kill yourself,
* wind it up on the flat/down hill/tail wind parts,
* do not over do it into the wind,
* At turn around evaluate where you are - how far back,
* maybe another steady - hard session.
* do not go too fast on hill on the way back
T2
* hit lap button,
* Get run bag,
* hand off bike (and helmet ? not sure)
* empty bag contents,
* get spares out of pockets,
* put sock/shoes one one foot at a time,
* get glasses and run to exit putting glasses and cap on,
* put GUs and tablets into pockets,
* hit the exit hard at full speed.
* press lap button
Run
* settle into a good fast pace perhaps faster than ususal about 4m/km,
* take a GU at first drink station
* first lap drink pro 4 and water, take salt tablets, at each aid station,
* 2nd and 3rd lap take coke if available
Tactics
* 3 lap course out and back want to average about 14mins per half lap,
* check splits at each end,
* More downhill on way back so if need be make use of them!
* take splits against anyone in front, try to catch earlier i.e. lap 1 or 2
* Hang on for last lap!
Finish
* Have a drink!
Gear
----
* Got some new googles TYR technoflex jr clear tried them and are good,
* Will wear my Orca shorts and Xterra black top, familar and comfortable,
* Xterra wetsuit will be good,
* On the bike will use my aero LAS helmet and HED Alps wheels (need and upgrade),
* On the run will don a cap and glasses and my Nike flats,
will take the time to put on a pair of socks.
* Areo bottle on the bars so allow lots of drinking easily...
Food
----
* For the ride will use Leppin squeezes diluted with salt tablets desolved and
* Leppin Enduro booster.
* For the Run will take 3 GUs and have one per lap (beginning) and water/Pro4 first lap then,
* coke/water after that.
* Might have a couple of salt tablets first and second lap too.
Race Plan
---------
Pre race
* Get bike togehter, tyres pumped up, shoes on right pedals,Put fluid into front bottle and,
* Other drink on.
* Put helmet on top of bars with spares and repar kit in it.
* Layout post swim bag for easy storage of gear.
Run bag
* put shoes in heals first with socks in each shoe half inside out,
* then put in cap (with three GU's, salt tablets and sun glasses)
Pre swim
* quick run warm up 10 mins
* put wetsuit on and body glide,
* zip up and get in water for a 5-10m swim warm-up leave no more than 5mins before race.
Swim
* Start on the left away from bad things...
* Swim steady right from the get go... get on someones feet if possible,
* Otherwise concentrate on good stroke and relaxed dps.
* Take a look ever 4th or 5th stroke once going ok.
* Check half way time at 1k and decide if need to swim harder,
* If rough weather then just try to get through without drinking too much water and going off course.
T1
* As coming out water take off top part of wetsuit, unzip and pull off arms
* take off googles and cap and carry
* hit lap button at T1 entry,
* At bike, but googles and cap in swim gear bag,
* Pull off wetsuit, roll up and shove in swim bag,
* get spares and place in top,
* Put helmet on
* unrack bike and head for exit,
Bike
* hit lap button, and start bike speedo,
* jump on bike with left pedal forward, stand on left shoe push forward and get right foot onto right shoe,
* get up to speed and then put left foot in first, then get some more speed on,
* then do right shoe, now go!
* settled, have a drink...
Tactics
* Start strong... put in a bit of effort until 30Km,
* settle in
* steady on the hill but do not kill yourself,
* wind it up on the flat/down hill/tail wind parts,
* do not over do it into the wind,
* At turn around evaluate where you are - how far back,
* maybe another steady - hard session.
* do not go too fast on hill on the way back
T2
* hit lap button,
* Get run bag,
* hand off bike (and helmet ? not sure)
* empty bag contents,
* get spares out of pockets,
* put sock/shoes one one foot at a time,
* get glasses and run to exit putting glasses and cap on,
* put GUs and tablets into pockets,
* hit the exit hard at full speed.
* press lap button
Run
* settle into a good fast pace perhaps faster than ususal about 4m/km,
* take a GU at first drink station
* first lap drink pro 4 and water, take salt tablets, at each aid station,
* 2nd and 3rd lap take coke if available
Tactics
* 3 lap course out and back want to average about 14mins per half lap,
* check splits at each end,
* More downhill on way back so if need be make use of them!
* take splits against anyone in front, try to catch earlier i.e. lap 1 or 2
* Hang on for last lap!
Finish
* Have a drink!
Friday, March 23, 2007
A few running weeks
The report out of Polar software now shows the last few weeks as 54, 73, 63, and this week 52Km for running weekly distance, with still two more days to come. I'll do a long ride tomorrow with a short brick, then a 90min steady effort Sunday to bring the total to over 70Km as well. Hopefully the body will hold together...
Starting to look like a good consistent block of running... I'll give it another couple weeks before deciding to enter the Marathon. I'll make a decision after the 15th as during that week I have a goal of 100Km for the week. If that goes well then we'll enter otherwise I'll just look towards doing the Huntly half in the later part of May.
Not doing anything really hard yet just trying to run at a 'fast crusing pace' without getting the heart rate too high... incorporating a bit of fartlek too. There are not too many hills around here, just rolling but will try to get some bigger hills in on this weekend's longer run..
Starting to look like a good consistent block of running... I'll give it another couple weeks before deciding to enter the Marathon. I'll make a decision after the 15th as during that week I have a goal of 100Km for the week. If that goes well then we'll enter otherwise I'll just look towards doing the Huntly half in the later part of May.
Not doing anything really hard yet just trying to run at a 'fast crusing pace' without getting the heart rate too high... incorporating a bit of fartlek too. There are not too many hills around here, just rolling but will try to get some bigger hills in on this weekend's longer run..
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Taking on Super Coach
The day broke overcast and windy, the sea quite choppy.Here's Super Coach coming out of T1 first... 2m40s ahead... not looking to happy!
I had no end of problems getting on my bike being completely out of practice I nearly crashed when I failed to put my feet on top of my shoes! Arrrrh!
The bike was rolling with some short step climbs... I made up about 30s giving coach 2mins out of T2...
Then onto the run! The legs just did not get going the first lap and it was still about 2 mins back with 5km to go. I lifted the pace and closed the gap to about 30 secs quite pleased, but no cigar. Super coach got the free lunch! Top Stuff.
Friday, March 09, 2007
A Marathon in 7 Weeks?
Here I am in the middle of training for the Auckland Half Ironman with thoughts of tackling the Rotorua marathon!
I don't think I'm crazy... but I have not done a marathon since London in '98 and want to see just how fast I can run one currently. I guess I'm thinking of a possible Ironman NZ next year and want to know what a reasonable pace would be...
It is 7 weeks away and I have been doing a reasonable amount since beginning of November including 6 weeks over 40Km and about 7 runs of 20Km or more... or am I dreaming???
I could go out tomorrow (Sat) and run 2 1/2 hrs comfortably, but instead I'll be doing a long ride (4hrs with some steady intervals) plus a 20min brick, then follow that up with a 1 1/2 hr ride and 2hr run on Sunday...
I don't think I'm crazy... but I have not done a marathon since London in '98 and want to see just how fast I can run one currently. I guess I'm thinking of a possible Ironman NZ next year and want to know what a reasonable pace would be...
It is 7 weeks away and I have been doing a reasonable amount since beginning of November including 6 weeks over 40Km and about 7 runs of 20Km or more... or am I dreaming???
I could go out tomorrow (Sat) and run 2 1/2 hrs comfortably, but instead I'll be doing a long ride (4hrs with some steady intervals) plus a 20min brick, then follow that up with a 1 1/2 hr ride and 2hr run on Sunday...
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Me in action
At the Mount... can't tell what lap though. Good enough for fastest bike split for the age groups...
Monday, January 08, 2007
Back in the Tri saddle!
Completed my first Tauranga Half in 2 years last Sat. Turned out to be one of the best races ever!
The day started fine but very windy. This was a big worry for me as I am weak swimmer but the wind did die down a bit for the swim.
There were a few dramas along the way, first before the start. I went for my warmup run with 30minutes before start and all was well until... well until I had to have a bathroom pit stop. This took 15minutes! Raced back to transition jumped into my wetsuit, Got Chris to zip it up and ran down to the beach with less that 3mins before start!
The SWIM
A very tough swim with a strong current and very competitive! Got swum over and hit on the head many times. I was getting quite worried and nervous but came out in under 32mins so very good for me.
The Bike
A good transition and onto the bike - only to find that my powertap kit was hitting the rear wheel spokes! Had to stop and was lucky not to be taken out by someone racing though on the outside (where I was heading to stop). Anyway I had to ride with no speedo. The wind on the first lap was not too bad but did build for the second and third. Still a good ride averaging 39Km/h for the 90Km! Fastest age group time of the day.
The Run
Another good quick transition and onto the run. A tough run this year and I positive split it. A little disappointed as I thought I was holding back the first lap! Still a 86min run is reasonable considering the conditions and the hard bike ride.
Finish time of 4 hr 18m, 9th overall and 1st in 3039 age group and a personal best on this new harder course!
The day started fine but very windy. This was a big worry for me as I am weak swimmer but the wind did die down a bit for the swim.
There were a few dramas along the way, first before the start. I went for my warmup run with 30minutes before start and all was well until... well until I had to have a bathroom pit stop. This took 15minutes! Raced back to transition jumped into my wetsuit, Got Chris to zip it up and ran down to the beach with less that 3mins before start!
The SWIM
A very tough swim with a strong current and very competitive! Got swum over and hit on the head many times. I was getting quite worried and nervous but came out in under 32mins so very good for me.
The Bike
A good transition and onto the bike - only to find that my powertap kit was hitting the rear wheel spokes! Had to stop and was lucky not to be taken out by someone racing though on the outside (where I was heading to stop). Anyway I had to ride with no speedo. The wind on the first lap was not too bad but did build for the second and third. Still a good ride averaging 39Km/h for the 90Km! Fastest age group time of the day.
The Run
Another good quick transition and onto the run. A tough run this year and I positive split it. A little disappointed as I thought I was holding back the first lap! Still a 86min run is reasonable considering the conditions and the hard bike ride.
Finish time of 4 hr 18m, 9th overall and 1st in 3039 age group and a personal best on this new harder course!
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