2010 K2 Race Report

The K2 cycle ride is around the Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand. It starts in one of 4 towns, either Coromandel Town, Thames, Tairua or Whitianga. This year was Coromandel's turn again. This year was the 9th running of the event (since the entire route has been sealed).

Training has been going really well leading into the ride and have done a fair amount of hill work so was expecting a good ride.

The day was looking ok so made sure I stayed hydrated leading into the race and ate well i.e. lots of carbs.

There are 7 categorised climbs for the King of the Mountain jersey and had plans to have a go if I felt good.

I started right at the back of the first group and settled into the ride. The first climb is only 7Km or so from the start so was not going to worry too much about it. Once I got myself a bit closer to the front I noticed that there was already someone off the front! Turns out that the KOM from last year had the idea to break away early to get some points. I did not think that was a great idea so stayed back.

The first climb did not feel to bad so decided to have a go for some points but was past by one guy so only managed 3rd. Legs felt much worse on the next climb and I was struggling to hand on so did not even try to contend for points on it!

Then the rain started and I got cold and wet. There is about 50Km of flat and I sat in the whole way drinking and eating and trying to stay out of trouble.

The next climb is a biggie! about 9Km long not steep for the whole way. This is where things started to go really wrong. All that early drinking turned against me as the weather was not that great. I has to stop to pee! I couldn't believe it. Before the climb proper started I rode a little bit off the front and pulled off to the other side to do my business! There was a long queue of cars behind so it made it easy to get back on - still not the best! Then Gary put in an attack half way up and that really hurt me! By the time we went past the first drinks stop I was struggling to hang in the first group and got tailed off towards the top. Fortunately, there is a good fast descent so had not trouble getting back along with most others... I thin I hit 80Km/h plus :)

The next part of the course is rolling and then lots of flats. I stayed in the group and kept quite feeling ok but not really enjoying myself. There were a couple of guys getting interested in breaking away some did get up the road. I did not even notice I was too busy just trying to stay in the group.

The next climb out of Tairua was ok and I did not have any major trouble. then onto Whitianga I was just sitting in too. I had to stop again for a pee though, in the pooring rain and a headwind. They were riding really slowly so decided I could manage it. Just did although it was hard work getting back on.

From here there were 4 more hills plus the biggie at the end. Not really much to say other than I was just trying to stay in contact. I think Brain had a go as we got closer to the finish and I went with him (and everyone else too) but other than that I stayed quiet.

The final hill Whangapoua starts about 8km from the finish is about 3.5 Km up, with an equally long and very tricky descent. I started about mid pack and worked up close to the leaders of our group. By about halfway up there were about 5 of us & pulling away from the rest. I actually started to feel OK for the first time. My legs were fine and I had not really pushed all day. By the time we got to 3/4 up I started to fade a bit and could not maintain the pace. Over the top I was about 50m back and got past by another rider. The descent was ok but got stuck behind some cars and took a while before I plucked up the courage to pass them. That cost me as Michael shot past near the bottom! He went past so fast that by the time we got to the bottom he was way too far ahead to catch.

I held that place to the finish. 11th overall so not great but a lot better that it was looking for most of the day!

Some favorite swim sets

Here are a few of my favorite sets. These are all pretty much based on swim squads at the Teps in Auckland that I used to frequent. See Haydn Wooley at Futuredreams.co.nz for coaching or stroke correction.

Endurance 1:
400m warm up (as you feel, e.g. 200free, 200 back)
n x 100m on Swim Interval (e.g. 1'45" or 1'40" or 1'30" )
build up to 30 or more
If times slower by 5" then penalty rest of 30"
200m warm down very easy

Choose a swim interval at the start that will allow you to build over the set getting stronger to the finish rather than go too hard at the start and need lots of penalty rest.
n = e.g. 15, 20, 25, 30, or more... depending on goal... e.g. if Ironman you might build up to n = 40

Variation, change to 200m or 300m or 400m (increase swim interval and reduce n) try to maintain no more that 15" rest between each interval.

Endurance 2:
400 wu ayf
n x ( 3 x 100m on m swim interval) where m = a very easy start swim interval e.g. 2'.
Then decrease by 5" after each set of 3 x 100m)
For first set of 3 first 25m fly, second breast, 3rd back
20o wd

For this set you really need to watch the clock. e.g. if start on 2' SI then start on the zero and the next three start on the zero too, however once you start the fourth 100m (second 100m of second set) start on the 55, then the 50, 45. Third set is minus another 5" so start the second 100m of the third set on 35, then 25, then 15... etc going around the clock subtracting the current difference from start.

Ideally this set should be easy to start with and slowly build. Always tends to go very quickly as I have to concentrate on the clock!

Technique: (2.1-2.9Km)
400wu (distance per stroke dps)
Main set 2 or 3 x (

• dps: 16 x 25m 10" rest 8 normal, 4 finger spread, 4 pads
• minimax: 6 x 50m on 1'30" (e.g.) min number of strokes max effort. Aim: lowest value for sum of number of strokes plus time. less than 70. e.g. strokes for 50m = 33, time = 36 => 69.
• Stroke Rate: 4 x 25m on 1'15" fastest rate. Aim > 1.8 e.g. 27 strokes / 15" )

200 wd

Speed: (2km)
Stretch 10-15'
500m easy every 4th back
1 x 100m time trail (dive start) 5' rest
400m easy dps with pads
2 x 75m TT 3' rest
300m easy dps pull bouy
3 x 50m TT 2'30" rest
200m easy dps pads
4 x 25m TT 2' rest
100wd

Power: (3km)
Warm up
500m every 3rd 25m 5 stroke breathing
300m every 2nd 25m 6 stroke breathing
100m 7 stroke breathing
Strength 1:
2 x 400m 1' rest. first 100m SPRINT. Then steady try to maintain form
200m easy dps pads
Strength 2:
16x25m FLY 10" rest (fins ok)
Strength 3:
16 x 50m sprint with 2' rest + 10 press ups every 2nd rep.
Warm down
200m ayf

That's a killer that one!

Review of The Time Crunched Cyclist

I am not much of a writer but I just wanted to jot down a few random thoughts on Chris Carmichael and Jim Rutburgs' new book.

Overall it was a good read with quite a lot of good stuff. Some that I already new (or suspected) but lots of which I did not.

I was using this approach for 5 weeks leading up to the Waikato Bay of Plenty Road Champs.

• I agreed with approach it made sense no quick fix or easy way but just plain hard work. The good news is that because it is short in duration even though the efforts are often very hard you can recover quickly and then get on with your day with the family and do housework etc and not have to end up on the sofa...

• The CTS Field test was very hard to get right. I have only tried it once so far but I am not really looking forward to the next one. You have to be fresh and in the right frame of mind and understand exactly what is required and be prepared to hurt yourself !!! The explanations for completing the test were good but I still got it wrong first time. (See earlier post for results).
  

• The chapter on nutrition was good and I really good some good stuff out of it. Especially the part about eating and drinking sooner in a race. I have been guilty of waiting until an hour into a race before starting and that is just too late! I also tend to not eat or drink much during training but for this programme that will set you up for failure. You need to eat well beforehand to be able to do the session at the required intensity and duration.

• I found it difficult to agree with all the advice in the making to most of your training chapter. Taking shorter turns in the Sunday bunch just does not wash with me... I liked the part about using a bigger gear and pedaling softer is a bit risky though, if the hammer goes down and you are in the wrong gear it could be costly.
  

• The different types of workouts are well described including cadence, power and heart rate and how to do the set. On the subject of cadence, there are some high cadence sets, but not as high as I thought they might be.

• There are 4 programmes, 2 for shorter races divided into New and experienced, and two for longer races up to 100 miles, e.g. like Taupo cycling challenge. This was divided into new and experienced as well. Each week normally consists of 4 rides varying from 1 hour up to 2.5 hours depending on day and week you are up to. The programmes are only 11 weeks long and once completed it is best to take a rest. Its' simple really, because of the high intensity used in the sessions, it does make it difficult to continue for a long period of time.
  

• A chapter on Endurance blocks was welcome. E.g. you get a holiday of some time off that you can devote to riding... then this is the chapter that shows how to make the most of it... great stuff!

Did it work for me? Well in short yes, but my fitness was pretty good to start with and I do have a pretty good base over the last few years... :) With baby Sam around it does mean that the number of hours to dedicate to training has halved. I have gone from averaging 12 hours a week (swimming, cycling and Running) to just 5-6 hours per week. So I think the change it training focus has worked.

The Road Champs were last week and although I was 2nd for the 4th year in a row. I did feel like I was the strongest rider there and a tactical error on my part was the main reason for the 2nd place. I attacked the bunch on the third lap (of 4) on a solid 1km plus climb and got away but not decisively and should have sat up. Instead, I persisted and wasted energy trying to stay away. I attacked again at the same place on the last lap but not quite as hard and one rider was able to claw his way back to me on the downhills and flatter parts. There were no more opportunities to break away and his sprint was too good.... Still I felt I race well and made some of the moves so a good result.

I also have to congratulate Dave Mann on winning the elite race. As a masters 3 rider that is not bad going. He had to out sprint Karl Moore and also in the race was Mark Langlands (just back from Europe) and Pet Latham (2008 Taupo Cycling Classic champ). Amazing result.

Finally, I am not sure if I will follow this programme again but I will most certainly be adopting some of the ideas here and try to fit them into my training in the future.

Pirongia on ride today... Nice.

9x9min Steady Efforts... sort of...

After reading Tonys' blog this week I saw a trainer bike set that I thought that I might like to try (see http://tonyimnz2009.blogspot.com/2009/09/trying-to-make-progress-plus-new-toys.html). 9x9min with 1min rest.

The result below...




As you can see I did not make 9. I ran out of time!

The Average was for each was: 279w, 290w, 291w, 281w, 286w, 287w, 307w. I did find if quite tough to keep consistent. I think I went a bit too easy on the first one and then a maybe 5w too hard for the next two. When I realised that I was not going to be able to do the whole 9, I pushed the last one a bit harder and went one gear harder. Tried to finished it off with a bit of a sprint. That did not go too well so I wonder if I would have been able to complete the last two 9min efforts.

A very tough set both mentally and physically. I had two bottles think I needed 3 and maybe some more food than just one bar.

Still would like to have another crack if I can get my head around it again...

BTW, at 69Kg. my W/Kg values are 4, 4.2, 4.2, 4.1, 4.1, 4.1, 4.4 !!!

PowerAgent and Snow Leopard

It looks like the driver for the powertap head unit has a problem. I am getting the following error, this is after installing the update from https://twitter.com/CycleOpsPower

Product Version: PowerAgent 7.4.5.6

Java: 1.6.0_15; Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM 14.1-b02-90

System: Mac OS X version 10.6.1 running on x86_64; MacRoman; en (poweragent)

Error:

Communication Error

Message:
java.lang.UnsatisfiedLinkError: /private/var/folders/fr/fri0VbJ6EVyGFTA6xOlQ0k+++TI/-Tmp-/libd2xx-macosx.jnilib: no suitable image found. Did find: /private/var/folders/fr/fri0VbJ6EVyGFTA6xOlQ0k+++TI/-Tmp-/libd2xx-macosx.jnilib: no matching architecture in universal wrapper
Level:
SEVERE
Stack Trace:
java.lang.ClassLoader$NativeLibrary.load(Native Method)
java.lang.ClassLoader.loadLibrary0(ClassLoader.java:1878)
java.lang.ClassLoader.loadLibrary(ClassLoader.java:1758)
java.lang.Runtime.load0(Runtime.java:770)
java.lang.System.load(System.java:1020)
com.cycleops.d2xx.Library.loadLibrary(Unknown Source)
com.cycleops.d2xx.D2xx. (Unknown Source)
com.cycleops.jpowertap.Manager.getConnectedDevices(Manager.java:120)
com.cycleops.devicemanager.DeviceManager.getSelectedDevice(DeviceManager.java:52)
com.cycleops.devicemanager.DeviceManager.getSelectedDevice(DeviceManager.java:41)
com.cycleops.devicemanager.DownloadDeviceAction.performAction(DownloadDeviceAction.java:83)
org.openide.util.actions.CallableSystemAction$1.run(CallableSystemAction.java:118)
org.netbeans.modules.openide.util.ActionsBridge.doPerformAction(ActionsBridge.java:77)
org.openide.util.actions.CallableSystemAction.actionPerformed(CallableSystemAction.java:114)
javax.swing.AbstractButton.fireActionPerformed(AbstractButton.java:2028)
javax.swing.AbstractButton$Handler.actionPerformed(AbstractButton.java:2351)
javax.swing.DefaultButtonModel.fireActionPerformed(DefaultButtonModel.java:387)
javax.swing.DefaultButtonModel.setPressed(DefaultButtonModel.java:242)
javax.swing.plaf.basic.BasicButtonListener.mouseReleased(BasicButtonListener.java:236)
java.awt.AWTEventMulticaster.mouseReleased(AWTEventMulticaster.java:273)
java.awt.AWTEventMulticaster.mouseReleased(AWTEventMulticaster.java:272)
java.awt.Component.processMouseEvent(Component.java:6348)
javax.swing.JComponent.processMouseEvent(JComponent.java:3267)
org.openide.awt.ToolbarButton.processMouseEvent(ToolbarButton.java:61)
java.awt.Component.processEvent(Component.java:6113)
java.awt.Container.processEvent(Container.java:2085)
java.awt.Component.dispatchEventImpl(Component.java:4714)
java.awt.Container.dispatchEventImpl(Container.java:2143)
java.awt.Component.dispatchEvent(Component.java:4544)
java.awt.LightweightDispatcher.retargetMouseEvent(Container.java:4618)
java.awt.LightweightDispatcher.processMouseEvent(Container.java:4282)
java.awt.LightweightDispatcher.dispatchEvent(Container.java:4212)
java.awt.Container.dispatchEventImpl(Container.java:2129)
java.awt.Window.dispatchEventImpl(Window.java:2475)
java.awt.Component.dispatchEvent(Component.java:4544)
java.awt.EventQueue.dispatchEvent(EventQueue.java:635)
org.netbeans.core.TimableEventQueue.dispatchEvent(TimableEventQueue.java:104)
java.awt.EventDispatchThread.pumpOneEventForFilters(EventDispatchThread.java:296)
java.awt.EventDispatchThread.pumpEventsForFilter(EventDispatchThread.java:211)
java.awt.EventDispatchThread.pumpEventsForHierarchy(EventDispatchThread.java:201)
java.awt.EventDispatchThread.pumpEvents(EventDispatchThread.java:196)
java.awt.EventDispatchThread.pumpEvents(EventDispatchThread.java:188)
java.awt.EventDispatchThread.run(EventDispatchThread.java:122)

My First iPhone App

Here's a screen shot of my first iPhone app. It is all a learning experience for me and to start things off I decided on a simple weight and calorie tracker. The calorie side is still a work in progress.

I do have the track weight side going which includes a graph to show progress.


Weight graph

This graph currently shows the data points, a last 30 days average and a goal weight line.

Best ever Trainer Session?

One of Tony's great sessions that I have never been able to nail is the old 10 x 3minute session. In the past I have either started to fast and blown or not gone hard enough and finished well but under done.

I decided to give it ago yesterday for a few reasons. First the weather was horrible and incredibly windy so I was not going outside. Also I needed a session that would burn quite a few calories to wear off the nice Thai meal I had the night before, and finally and maybe the main reason I just found out that next weekend is the Waikato Bay of Plenty Time Trail champs and I wanted to see where I was at. At 25Km for the distance I figured this would be a good session to test me on.

Heart Rate and Cadence

Power is the only thing worth looking at here

I started reasonably conservatively at about 300W ave for the first 3 then increased to about 310 for the next 3. The 7th 320, 8th 310W, 9th 340W and the 10th 350W.

I was varying the cadence going one gear harder each interval in sets of 3 going back to the first gear after the third interval of the set. The last one (10th) I just went one more gear harder.

The lower power averages do match up with the easiest gear (e.g. 1st, 4th) except the 7th which I cooked myself on a bit as you can see from the next interval power went down.

The heart rate graph definitely has signs of cardiac drift as the HR slowly increases from one set to the next...

The last two intervals I really tried to wind it up a bit and I do not think I could have done another interval at similar power.

All in all a very good set for me!

My First CTS Field test

Just got the new book by Chris Carmichael. The Time-Crunched Cyclist...

No rocket science in involved just plain hard work!

Anyway before you start the program he recommends doing a field test. This invloves 2 8m efforts 10m apart. He has a lot of detail on how to do this. I tried to follow it as close as possible. I chose using the trainer as there is not really any good location close by to do it on the road...

The Results:


Heart rate and Cadence


Power

Unfortunately my test did not match any of the examples CC provided! It was a good test and has highlighted that I was not sure of what I could handle for 2x8m and so I must have started to easily. In the notes Chris does say to really open it up in the last minute and that is what I did but guessing from the examples he would have expected that to hold the current power rather than increasing it as much as I did... The rest of each set was pretty steady though. At the end of the second 8m I again was able to increase the power instead of slightly dropping it which would have indicated fatigue... so as I say I must have gone to easy to start with...

Average power was 325 and 323W, heart rate 146 and 149.

Get fit with 6 minutes a day

I read in an article recently about the idea of being able to get fit and loose weight with only 6 minutes a day. This really intrigued me as I now have limited time to train. Joe Friel also blogged about it (http://is.gd/1CGsA). The catch? well you have to do it at a very high intensity.

I thought about this for a while and decided that you could do 6 1 minute intervals with a warm up and probably a long rest interval. Next thing was to give it a go.

But I couldn't just do 6 minutes! That although the title of the article is not sensible! Instead I broke in up into a warm up, 6x1m with 3m rest and a warm down.

Results below...

heart rate

Power

The Team Time Trial

Well I got dragged into the Hope Gibbons Team Time Trial again this year. I was not really all that keen for it as I have not really done that much in the last 4 weeks and certainly nothing that would set me up for this... but they were short of riders and in the end I was the 3rd rider of 3 to count. Sam Weston, the 4th rider in the team did not have a TT bike and as a result really struggled.

Eric Drower and Dave Mann were the other two and they are considerably better at this kind of thing than me!

The course was 40Km out and back two lapper, in Gordonton. It's probably pretty well known to the Secondary Schools and they use this for the North Island champs. Unfortunately the road surface is not that great so is usually a slowish course.

On the plus side for once there was not that much wind.

We started out nice and steady at 45-50Km/h but neither myself or Sam could handle that. So every time we came onto the front the pace would drop. This was not by choice I say. There was a bit of a headwind on the way out and we slowed as we came to the turnaround. I was already running scared as the heart rate was way up over my current AT. It was starting to stay above it! Bugger. After the first turn we got going up towards 50Km/h again for a couple of big turns by both Dave and Eric. After coming off the front, then Sam I missed the pace being lifted and then Dave and Eric gaped the both of us. I stayed on Sams' wheel but he could not close the gap. I went past and then they waited for us. A bit of a stuff up by me there. The problem was that neither Sam or I could really hold the same kind of pace so they would lift it just as we were trying to get back on... not the best really...

Sam and I skipped a couple of turns and then Sam was gone.

I got my breath back (see the HR dip just before half way) and started to take a few turns again. Not that long mind you.

The start of the second lap I was not feeling too bad but controlled myself and skipped every second turn. The wind seemed a bit stronger this lap and we slowed down quite a bit. Eric had taken a couple of big laps and was not feeling to good. Dave was just being controlled.

At the third turn with the wind at our backs things really started to heat up! Eric lifted it up to over 50! and Dave upped it too. I came through and the pace dropped to 47. Bugger. anyhow Eric came through again and we got up to 53... I'm hanging on for dear life hoping that he does not go any faster!

The pace settled down towards a more realistic pace for me at around 48 and I was able to take a few more turns and hold the pace. It was not really until the last 5Km that I became confidant that I would stay in contact and not blow up :)

We crossed the line together in a time of 52:30. I was very pleased with this. Ave HR 170 max 177. This is very high for me. I guess because I have not been doing much the HR has gone higher than it might have normally. Ave speed 46Km/h Max 53Km/h.

IM Age Group award

2009 25th ani IRONMAN New Zealand AG award. Very cool. Yes it's glass...

Ironman Training...

The graphs below show training for the 10 weeks leading up to Ironman NZ. This was not ideal as it could have been. I am not upset about this or anything like that. Sam was born on the 22nd of Jan so in the weeks leading up to that date and afterwords the amount of training was somewhat reduced.

Still an average of 13h30m was reasonable and I am quite pleased with this volume...

Week 1 was a smallish taper for the Taranga Half Ironman as I consider this as an A race. Then week 2 was the week of the race.  The next two weeks were building up to Sam's birth and her birth. So they were lower average volumes that what would have been ideal. On the plus side I had two weeks off work, so I was able to slip in a few sessions when otherwise it might have been impossible.

The swimming is not really too bad. An average swim distance of just under 3Km and about 3 swims per week. I was happy with my swim time at IMNZ too. To me the only thing missing was perhaps some squad training for faster sets and maybe one swim per week to up the volume a bit.

If you go back further in my training log you will see lots of bigger rides all the way back to September 2008. So I did have some really good volume as a base. I was also doing a lot of club Thursday races so was happy with my speed and intesity.

I did a very good time at IMNZ (5h3m) so was happy with that... But (there's always a but) I think I did need a few more long rides. As you can see above there was a big gap in weeks 3-4 and weeks 8-9. There really needed to be 2-4 more rides over 5 hrs (150Km). Just was not really the time though. Being away from Iz and Sam would have not been the best option. I therefore settled for 3hr rides (about 100km).

The running was a different story. This is possibly the area where lots of running even if shorter distances would still make a difference. The problem thought was that I did not feel I could risk running lots. Sometimes I felt I needed two days break between runs to make sure I did not break down... Only 2 runs at about 30Km plus was not enough... Missed a long run the week before completely for the hope that the legs came right... The weeks before Xmas were not much better. The weeks 3-7 were quite good though if slightly light on the volume... I also Lacked any kind of speed work.

Still after the bike a 3h17m run was OK. I was hoping for about 10mins quicker than that.

A Fantastic day

I have had my best result at Ironman New Zealand! What more can you say... very pleased.

The day started at 4:50 so not too early...a reasonable sleep. Sam had been a pain for the last couple of days and I was really worried she was going to stay awake all night! Thankfully it was not too bad. Got about 5 hours sleep. Sam had just woken anyway so Iz was getting up... too.

I had a reasonable breakfast of muesli and tea... and got all the bottles and the bike special needs stuff together and off we went...

Left the house at 5:45. A little ops on the way. The guy behind us was not paying attention and hit us from behind. Bugger. Not too much damage though. A short delay and we were back on our way!

Thankfully there were no more dramas and I got the bike sorted and headed down to the swim start.

Got my wetsuit on and into the water by 6:50. Not as soon as I wanted but I was still quite relaxed. I swam out to the far right and found Liz and Maddog so decided that this was a good place to be. Had a look around to see where Tony was but could not see him. I figured he must have been right up close to that right start buoy.

Swim:

The Gun went a little early than I expected but got going OK. Funny thing about an IM, there really is not that much in the way of a rush off the start line than compared to other races. Of course it helped that the pros were not with us. I did put in a bit of an effort to start with and tried to find some feet to swim off. But I was hardly going for it! Got some but they were rather nasty! The guy was kicking all over the place and zigzagging all over too. For the next 10mins I was fighting to get away from this guy. Very frustrating! He seemed to keep covering me! I just could not get around him... Finally someone else comes up beside me and I jumped onto his feet. The rest of the swim was pretty uneventful and actually went very quickly. The only thing was I did struggle with the drafting a quite a bit... it seemed that the guys I was drafting off really did now swim all that straight. With about a Km to go I decided to up the pace a bit and went my own way... I did pull away a bit and caught up a group. Just at the finish I caught Hamish (although I did not know it until the after race photo :)

Just under 58'. That's a best by about half a minute. Certainly a good way to start the day!

T1

My transitions are sometimes great and well sometimes a bit of a goon show! I ran quite steady up to the transition area and into the tent. Got help getting the wetsuit off but he could not pull it off my feet! He dragged me across the ground! Can you believe that? Anyway he stopped and I had to work it off each foot by hand. Crazy stuff. I had socks in my bike shoes and the socks were nicely folded to get on quicker. One of the helps unfolded them Doh! Put on a gillet, rolled up arm warmers and put some salt tablets into back pocket and took off for the bike. Got to the bike OK and out. Getting on the bike was a complete disaster! I knew that wearing shoes from transition was a risk. Both cleats got gummed up with mud and I had to clean them before I could click in. The problem is I did not find this out until after the first attempt at mounting my bike, so I nearly came off! Doh! (again). Oh well, no damage... yet. After that I felt that things might go my way!

Bike

Once on the bike and up to speed I unrolled arm warmers and started drinking and eating a bar. Feeling pretty good about the day. It's always fun going out of town for the first time a bot of a buzz. Very easy to get a bit too excited...

There was a bit of wind and rain about but really was not too bad... Once I got up to the race track upped the pace a bit and started to catch a few people... Did have a little ops at about 55Km/h when I just checked to make sure my bottle was not coming out... went over a small bump and the rear wheel flicked out a bit! That scared me, jeepers I really did not wanna come off at that speed... Got into a good group but it was growing fast. Getting really worried about being busted. I did a Tony trick and let myself drift off the back a bit... Spotted Cream Puff about half way out, just had enough time to say Hi! No chance for a quick Chat or something else.... Tony.

Spotted Tony heading back... looked like in the front group looking good. Another 3m plus to the turn, so he was at least 5m up the road. At the turn around, went around very gingerly... felt very slippery... I did not lean the bike at all. Very big group now. I must have been on the back of a 50 rider bunch. Did look very cool seeing them all lined up in front of me...

I made a bit of a blunder here though... I stayed just where I was happy that things were going along nicely, but as we started going up I was not paying enough attention to the front of the group. Dam it, someone about 10 riders up let a gap form and no one went 'round him. By the time I realised what had happened the gap was nearly 200m. Doh! (not again)... I rode to the front of this group and carried on but, by the time we got down through town and back up private road and onto Broadlands again there was not sign of anyone.. Oh well. Time to settle in and eat some more. I did put in a bit of an effort on the climbs to see if I could bring that group back, but not to be.

Start of the second lap

I rode the next 20Km on my own so that made about 30Km alone. Possibly a tactical error on my part here. Halfway out I finally got caught by another smaller group. I decided to sit in again and rest a bit...

Saw Tony again just before the turn around. A little sooner this time so he was going well. Maybe 2m30s this time I thought.

When we hit the bridge I decided to go again. I was looking at the watch thinking sub 5hours might be on the cards, so put in a bit of effort here. Two of us worked together quite well. Dropped him as we were coming up to the race track... 5 hrs ticked over as I was coming down Spa Road. Oh well it was close. Just under 5:03 so a good ride ! A personal best so all good and feeling great. Not even my back was very sore.

T2

Into transition no errors and got the socks and shoes on quick plus arm coolers rolled up. Hey I was hopeful that it might get warm :) The lady helping me unfolded my socks too, this slowed down me putting on my socks. Dam that was 0 for 2. Anyway it was a very good T2 for me.. Then off up the ramp and out for the run.

Run

Saw Lynley on the corner of the bridge doing race commentary. She said hi! Coming down the other side was a great lift. Running quite fast at the bottom. Felt pretty good and set a good pace. Hr was about 143 so was a tad higher than '04, but I could live with it. The emotions really run high as you go through town... so many people cheering and calling out you name (it helps it is on your race number) it almost feels like everyone knows you. Of course very easy to get carried away with this.

Heading out for the first lap...

I saw Tony at about the 8Km mark. He was feeling it from being sick most of the week. Still looked in good spirits. I was happy but feeling cautious about the second lap.

I had a great first lap and kept the pace constant. I was taking lots of water with some salt tablets and a GU every 30mins. Espresso Love ones with double caffeine... very nice.

I got caught just before half way by this pro woman, she was running really well. We stayed together for a few Kms but she then took off! Not for me...

The start of the second lap I still felt OK and carried on if at a slightly slower pace. The idea was at 9Km to go if there was still something there to up the pace then. That's at the top of airport hill.

When I finally got there, there was no upping the pace going on... The pace had dropped a bit and I was really just hanging on. The quads and groin region was rather tight!

The last 6Km was a struggle and I was getting past quite a bit. I was looking for E's on peoples' calves. I did not see any. I was playing mind games with myself. Get to the next aid station. Have a good drink of coke and some water on the legs then get going again. This got me through and I was able to keep running reasonably well. It was great to get to the waterfront. The closer you get the faster you go and I did start to wind it up a bit.

Brodie went past me just at the Supaloos. Bugger I thought I had him. Anyway I had a look and no one else was going to go past now.

Down the shoot and had another quick look. And another. Nope no one there... now enjoy it!

9:24 10 min quicker than '04. Very pleased.

Ironman Gear list...

The big day is at hand...

Thursday

• Check wheels OK,
  
• Tape up the container to hold spares.
• Bike check
• Register.

Friday

• Rack bike and cover it so does not get too wet.
• Aero bottle on bike.
• Fill drink bottles (5) night before.

Pre race

• Breakfast - simple toasted muesli, Tea.
• Get bike together, tyres pumped up, Put fluid into front aero bottle,
• Other two drinks on.
• Put spares and leavers in back holder properly so they do not come out. TAPE IT.

Pre swim bag

• sun tan lotion,
• wetsuit
• body glide,
  
• Goggles x 2
• Gear to change into
• race belt
• 2XU top tri shorts
• shoes
• pump
• swim caps x 2

T1 Bag 

• Bike shoes with toe booties
• socks
• helmet
• salt tablets
• poly pro
• arm warmers
• arm coolers
• Food?

Special Needs Bike 

• Two bottles
• some other food nice....

T2 Bag

•  4 GU gels.
• Running shoes with socks and Vaseline
• Cap
• Glasses

Special Needs Run

• Chips
• other nice?

 

Iz & Sam...

The work Workstation...

Taupo training camp base view

Taupo Training

This is from the last weekend in Jan so a bit late, but I did want to put something down before I forgot about it.

We drove down on the Friday night and I had decided the best idea was to find something down in Taupo. This sort of backfired as I forgot that Iz wanted something with air conditioning... So we ended up in a very small room in a hotel. Not exactly what we needed... no ideal for Iz.

Saturday:

We started with a short swim... about 15 mins in the end. A wee bit shorter than I imagined... Then back to the hotel and onto the bike. It was not a warm morning so I put on a jacket and headed down towards the houses (where the others were based). 

Picked them up then headed out onto the course... Today we had install at least 6 hours of riding and 4 x 15 min efforts to break it up a bit. Started very easy up to the race track, then just spinning at a good speed on the descent... looked back a couple of times to see a very long line of the group in single file very cool.

Just after the bridge, I took a few turns. We were going quite well! It did not seem as if we slowed down much or took it very easily! Oh no maybe I have already gone too hard... The faster riders went straight through Reparoa and almost all the way to the main road to Rotorua... Stopped at Reparoa on way back grabbed a drink and a pee, then straight into the first effort! I think I pretty much sat in (legal distance) most of the way and took a few turns. Then the next effort was from the bridge up to the race track. That one was pretty hard.

Stopped at Hotel for a feed and pick up more drink - only took two - and say Hi to Iz and Sam then back out onto the course... The second lap started the same as the first...Still going reasonably well even though we were not doing an effort... this got me quite worried!

Again we went all the way to the main road... this time though we stopped at the Dairy at Reparoa and tanked up on food an drink.

Another 15 min effort that I cannot really remember... I think by this time I might have even been sitting in a bit closer to Tony's' wheel than I would like to admit! I guess there was a bit of I just wanna get home going on!

The last effort was a bit easier for me to handle as it was up hill still bloody hard though!

Heading home along the waterfront I got a puncture so had to slow down. Just make it back to the Hotel without having to repair it...

Finished with a run. I just did this from the Hotel... ran along the road to the house, grabbed a drink and then headed along the waterfront. I did not know that there was a nice track along the lake side. Very nice. I popped out onto the main road at 2 Mile bay, just before the hotel and just in time to get passed by Mr Brown... dam it! I was running quite fast too... There was Mark W watching on the side too. A good 40m so very pleased!

Sunday:

We at least the weather was all right! Started with a swim from the yacht club. We did a few start simulations and then headed along past the hole in one pontoon. We were suppose to turn at 25 mins but the others turned at 20 mins not sure what happened there... I was sitting on Lizs feet and I do not think she liked it much but I was not feeling too good! On the way back I found Maddog's feet and although they go all over the place I was able to stay in touch... A reasonable swim if a little short.

Back to the Hotel and get ready to ride. I rode all the way down to the house this time and through a Triathlon race! They were just finishing the briefing... But apparently it was going to be one lap plus a bit and 3 x 20min efforts! Sounds like fun...

Off we went nice and easy to start with. Going up Napier road and then onto Broadlands. The ride started to get faster after the motor circuit, on the downhill... As soon as we got to the flat the first 20m effort started. This one was not too bad and I did do a bit on the front. Quite solid. Was wondering in the back of my mind if I could keep it up!

Again we went thru the 'round a bout and to the main road. Then back to Reparoa. No stopping today. Bugger. Then into the next effort. This time Tony went to the front and took off! I did not even dare to stay with him. Very solid! Thankfully when he say that we had been dropped he sat up and then lost a bottle so I upped to pace and made it as hard as I dared for him to get back on... Finished effort 2. I was going to take it easy for a bit but Tony went past and keep the pace solid! Oh well... I did sit in for a bit to get a bit of recovery going...

Next effort starts at the bridge. Off we went again... I went past Tony along the flatter parts and tried to up the anti a bit... kept it going up the hills all the way to the motor circuit with Tony giving me some support! Ok a push :)

Pretty stuffed I have to say!

The run! Isobel had transferred to the house and I went there too. Got the shoes on and off for run... I followed the road this time... Tony was at the start of the lake Terrace. I did not stop first time past and went all the way round to the IM finish. Coming back had a quick stop for water/coke and topped up the bottles then headed out for the 5 mile bay turn around... That was quite hard. Very hot. I was running quite well though... Thankfully there was some water at 5 Mile bay so stopped to get a drink! Bit of a life saver that one as Really hot today. On the plus side just getting to the top of Airport hill was only about 2 km go go after that. Turned out to be about 22Km and in just over 1h35m very pleased...

Worth noting going up the Airport hill is the 10Km to go marker for the second lap... i.e. 32Km. So if things are good it would be a good time to start winding up the running at the top...

Thoughts... So on the whole a good couple of days training. seem to be going OK in the swim, pretty good on the bike - although I have to say that Tony has really improved over the last few weeks since the Tauranga half very noticeable... of course he was not running so did not have to hold anything back - the run, well the the run is OK too, but I am lacking a few long runs...

Also I am not comfortable on the bike this is very disturbing and I am going to have to change things a bit to see if this improves... not a good idea I know but I will not be very happy on the day if my shoulders and neck hurts like f..k!!!

The new ride...

With 11 speed Record... Nice.

Module: Time VXR Proteam and Time headset, fork, stem, post

Gruppo: 11 speed Record

Wheels: Fulcrum Racing Zero

Tyres: Michelin Pro3 Race

Tubes: Vitoria Ultralight

Pedals: Time

Bar: Deda Newton Shallow

Tape: Fi'z:k

Cages: Profile Design

Saddle: Fi'z:k Arione

Speedo Polar wireless S625X

Apologies:

Cages, 

Saddle (mind you if it was white then there would be a lot of white !),

Still some shimano on there...

No Apologies (Hey I'm getting old OK):

Spaces,

Fi'z:k gel on top of bar,

Shallow drop bar.

Other:

Shoes: DMT (white/some blue)

Helmet: MET Strad II