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 :)

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.

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!

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.

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!

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..

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.

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...

Me in action

At the Mount... can't tell what lap though. Good enough for fastest bike split for the age groups...

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!

Hooking up with the gang (17th June)

Today we headed over to the appartment that Tony, Liz, Joel, Brent and Q were staying at... just managed to catch them before they were heading into town...

We hitched a ride and had a second breakfast, a nice cappa and a patisserre!

Later took Joel out for a short ride... The best ride of his life!

First col (16th June)

Isobel and I checked out the area and rode into Vence and then up the col de Vence. Not a big col but nice and a qood three hour ride to get into riding again...

We think that we rode some of the old Ironman France course and the one thing to note was how technical the descents are...

La Gaude (15th June)

We arrived in La Gaude today. No problem with the flight to Nice, but we did have a bit of a drama with the taxi driver... but after an hour and lots of messing around we finally found out Chamber d'Hotes.

Put the bikes together and went for a short ride... shoulder was not too bad. This was the first ride since coming down about 6 weeks ago...

Off to France!

We are off to Europe and will be in France for a couple of weeks! First though we have to head to England and see some of the relies...

Disappointment to the extreme...

Needless to say the IM that wasn't. I did not do to well and was not in great mental shape afterwards for quite a while...

Have joined a bike club and doing a bit of bike racing as a good break from everything tri like.

T-Minus five days...

Well in less than 5 days we'll be at the start line of another IM race. A few months ago I was looking to go for a personal best, but now I am just hoping to finish the event in one piece.

In the last couple of weeks a number of things have happened that have caused more and more concern.

First of all lately swimming has been differcult and I have not been as fast as a couple of weeks ago - in fact I have been find the pool very cold and after 40mins I have had to get out.

The cycling has had problems too. My top end power has dropped and my bike intervals have shown a drop in average power. The classic 10x4min interval set that Tony get us to do has dropped from a total ave power of 320W to more like 305W...

Then there has been a number of other things that have just caused head aches... Like battery on Polar watch going. Not being able to get the new seat post for the bike. Kestrel make a specific post for the Talon SL. I have tried to order this to no avail...

On the positive side though the running has been going well. I think possibly what has been causing the good here could be causing the bad elsewhere, that is I am about 3Kg lighter that I was before IMNZ last year...

IRONMAN NZ Here we come!

Well I had another good weekend of training! Not as much as in previous weeks but still a good volumne. Saturday started out with a good solid 45min swim followed by a 2hr plus ride with 40mins of steady big gear hill riding and finished with a solid hour run including 30mins at average of 3'45" min/Km pace! about 16km total. Very pleased. Ate and drunk heaps too including using coke on the run - part of the race plan.

Sunday was the last of the longer rides but very easy. Decided to go out with the slower bunch and then turned off with Kevin and Gary to ride nice and easy at 30km/h pace for most of the day. Left shoulder is getting a bit sore bit otherwise all good. 25m run after was mostly at race pace (sub 4'30" pace) and felt easy...

I really am tappering now and starting to feel quite good. Time to get the bike serviced check all the gerar and make sure everthing is OK. Also starting to think of a race plan.

Taper time?

Well another crazy training weekend is over and I'm quite fried as a result!

Saturday turn out fine and after a short 20min swim we headed off for a two lap blat of the bike course. Both Tony and Joel were on fire and I had no chance to keep up when legally drafting... Did the first lap at an average of 230W including one 20min effort at 300W. Very pleased. The second lap however was a different story... Coming back from turn around I was supposed to do another 20min effort at 300W - but that lasted less than 5 mins! Then I was in survival mode... Ended up with a 198W average for the lap.

On the plus side I did come right on the hills (220W ave) and the 35m run off the bike was at 4min km pace!

Things I got out of that little exercise: Going over 300W for me is the fastest way to sap the legs - not be done casually! On the first lap I could not drink enough to stay hydrated. But on the plus side when I eased off on the second lap and ate and drank, the legs did come back a bit.

Sunday turned up another great day and this time we started with a decent 60min swim which I covered at least 3.5Km - a good part of the course. Then another lap on the bike, this time with 4x15min efforts with 10mins rest... 299W, 277W, 270W, and 272W respectively, very pleased. Carried it on up the climb back to Taupo. Then onto the run... Another good effort. Running a good part of the course - to the turnaround at 5 Mile Bay and back - about 17Km in 65mins that's at 4min Km pace!

Feeling very please with training now and really strong on the run. Swimming is better that ever too what with records dropping everywhere. Just not too sure about the biking at the moment... Earlier I thought I was going well but seem to have lost a bit of power of late. Could be due to newish lower bike position or maybe that I have lost a few kgs of weight?

It's not quite all tapering yet as this week is a key run week with another 2 1/2 hr run to do and at least 4 other runs, but from the weekend the long rides are finally getting shorter!

Monday, the last day of the camp was quite windy and cool. Thankfully not a big day. Most of the group did a longish easy run, but I opted for an easy 2hr bike of which I rode the last half on the front into the wind! It was not hard though and I kept the group together without smashing anyones legs.

Training smart?

What with the Half IM last weekend it seems as if this week and last week was wasted. I'm not sure, yeah I know that having a break is a good thing, but last week we were resting up a bit for the race and this week we have spent the half the week resting up from the race! I have not done anything hard since the race.

I guess on the bright side I am pretty fresh for the camp this weekend! And next week is gonna be tough with another 2 1/2 hour run added into the mix...

I guess we'll see shortly.

Half hearted?

Did the Auckland Half IRONMAN last weekend. went very well but punctured for the first time in a race and lost 13 minutes!

What a stuff up. Thankfully it was not Taupo IM. Why did I take THAT much time? Well, I changed the tube quickly and all was going well. I would have been on my way very quickly but for the decision to take the valve extender off. As I unscrewed it, it also unscrewed the valve! As I only had one CO2 canister I then started to pump the tyre up using a hand pump, this broke the valve extender! I then had to wait for wifey (she was racing too) to come past with another valve extender and for someone to stop who had a foot pump.

If it was not for that, I may have finished close to Scott Molina!

Oh well, all in all a good training day though and on target for Taupo.

See http://www.aucklandhalf.co.nz/ for details