The big day out!

To be honest I am absolutely stoked with the entire day and the whole Ironman experience at Taupo.

With 22 weeks of training behind me I had a reasonable level of confidence that I had prepared well and would be in a good position to put together a solid effort come Saturday 1 March. So this is how the week and race panned out.

I had a pretty relaxed week leading into race day, making sure that I had plenty of rest and sleep. Wednesday was spent doing a short sharp 60 km bike, checking gear, cleaning the bike and a bit of quite time contemplating the race ahead. At that time the weather prediction for Saturday didn’t look flash and it was time to start thinking about adjustments to the race plan. I had some pretty firm target times in mind which I had worked out a couple of weeks earlier based upon a couple of time trials. Clearly the weather was going to be a factor, how much would be determined on race day.

Thursday was travel day with a short break in Auckland for work. The rest of the day went by pretty quickly with registration, a get together with the Alpe Team and then the carbo dinner.

Friday started with a 10 minute swim, 20 minute ride and 20 minute run. This session and the ones earlier in the week were changes I had made from previous years and followed the plan to reduce the volume over a three week period. Gear bags were packed and the bike checked in. All this was done early by 11.30 am so the rest of the afternoon could be spent relaxing with the feet up. The final adjustments and bike check had been done at home earlier in the week at the local Avanti bike shop. Everything that could be done prior to getting to Taupo was taken care of.

Friday night Ben and Laura arrived about 10.00 pm. Time to catch up and then it was off to bed. The alarm was set for 5.00 a.m. however it wasn’t needed. I had a pretty restless night.

Taupo certainly knows how to turn it on in its own way with the day starting out calm, with little wind and a flat swim, but soon disintegrating into squally showers, a brisk northerly and later gusty winds and rain.

Prior to getting in the water I had worked out where I wanted to be on the start line and I was also conscious that navigation wasn’t going to be that easy with the majority of swimmers wearing orange caps, orange marker buoys, kayakers with orange vests combined with my short sightedness were going to make it hard.

My swim training had focused on strength and getting out of the water in good shape. About 90% of my swim training is done with a pull buoy and/or paddles, generally reps of 500 m of 1000 m up to 3.5 km per session 4 times a week. Nothing flash, scientific or complex in that. The target for the day was to crack one hour. Throughout the swim I felt pretty strong. I was swimming well, and throughout the mindset was positive “I was having a great swim.” At the lake edge looking up I could see the time tick past the one hour mark….bugger was the thought initially, that changed quickly with the realisation that it was my quickest swim ever.

A quick change and then onto the bike. The plan for the ride was to follow the nutrition plan with an emphasis on ensuring that the tucker went in during the second 90 km, maintain an average of 33 kph, (5 hours 30 minutes) and to concentrate on a 90 + cadence. The nutrition plan was simple. Leppin in the aero bottle on the handle bars with a good gob full every 20 minutes, washed down with water, a whole banana every second aid station, and 2 or 3 Hammer E-caps every hour.

Riding into the wind on the way out whilst still relatively fresh went pretty quickly, the brisk northerly from the turn at Reporoa back to Taupo was welcomed. The first return leg was over and I was feeling pretty comfortable, not pushing to hard and saving the legs. From the top of Broadlands down into Taupo was pretty quick and turning back into the main street with the crowd around was a real boost and the personal support team certainly made themselves heard.

As I started the climb back up towards the road to Reporoa at the start of the second lap an ugly wind and rain squall whipped across, probably the worst weather on the bike all day. Much of the outward leg was into the wind and rain so it was a case of keep the cadence up, staying aero, keeping the tucker schedule going and looking after the legs. Once the turn at Reporoa came the tail wind kicked in again and it seemed to have picked as well. Back to transition and off the bike in 5 hours 35 minutes.

A quick transition and it was out onto the run. The target time for the run was 3 hours 40 minutes and the plan was to take it easy over the first half and save plenty for the last hour. Going out with a tail wind I was running around 5 min kms but that soon dropped as I turned to head back towards town. I soon hooked up with another guy running at a similar pace and we took turns running on each others shoulder trying to shelter from the wind. Again the nutrition consisted of Leppin and the hammer e-caps washed down with regular water and the odd half banana. The second half of the run seemed more comfortable than the first although the legs were really starting to feel it by that point.

The last 4 or 5 kms the pain seemed to disappear as the thrill of another Ironman finish loomed. The crowds and atmosphere at the finish line were truly amazing, in fact the atmosphere through the entire couple of days in Taupo was. Getting to the finish line I was welcomed with the words "Graeme, You are an Ironman again!" in a total time of 10 hours 35 minutes.

I didn’t muck around in the recovery tent too long and quickly caught up with Tricia, Ben and Laura who were absolutely ecstatic. They knew I had finished 4th in the 50 to 54 age group and we had talked about Kona spots in my age group. I had qualified. A long held goal had been achieved and the Ironman journey continues.

Congratulations to Emma, Kiernan, Kathy and Raewyn on their remarkable achievements. It’s been great to share the journey.

To Steve thanks for the opportunity to be part of the Alpe d'huez team. I'm sure the book will be a huge success and an inspiration to all.

To Ben and Laura thanks for being there to support and encourage me.

Finally to Tricia, thanks for your outstanding commitment, patience and endurance without which I couldn't have got to the finish line.

A week out .....

……to live the dream, put it all together and finish the journey! From now to race day it gets tough mentally. Those probing questions from within begin, self doubt, the what ifs and have I done enough?

Looking back on my training diaries this past couple of month’s rate highly as one of my better efforts in recent years. I doubted that I was capable of maintaining a build up over such a long period; however after embarking on months of training I am happy with the journey so far in terms of the quality and volume. The pleasing factors are the running and the bike/run bricks.

I have made some alterations to my programme for the 3 weeks leading into the race to ensure that I will be well rested and raring to go. In previous years I tended to do too much in this critical time and got to the start line feeling flat and tired.

Coming to terms with the reduced training and resting is difficult. It is tempting to go out there and test the body but following the programme, cutting back and resting up will pay off. The body feels like it is shutting down and I’m feeling a little lethargic. It’s hard to not think that I’m losing it and the need or desire to go out and test myself.

Two weeks ago I did a “dry run” over 150 km ride and a 14 km run. This included testing everything from nutrition, clothes, water bottles, bike set up, right down to the socks for the day and whether I change them at T2. This session gave a good a benchmark of where I am at. It also provided me with some confidence. From now on there is not a lot to do in terms of equipment or clothing its all sorted. There is a big temptation in the couple of weeks before a race to start changing and altering things.

The excitment is starting to build and I'm looking forward to a great day. All that remains is to put the plan into action and acheive the target times.

Three weeks out ...

With three weeks left the training is going according to plan. This last week has been pretty similar to previous weeks, with 11 sessions - 4 swims, 3 bikes and 4 running. Totaling up the time at the end of the week showed that it was dominated by running. 3 hours, a 2 hour plus and two 1 hour plus run sessions. Somewhere around 75kms for the week. The bike took a bit of a back seat this week, although the previous week had included a 6 and a half hour ride and Saturday's brick was over a reasonable distance. The indoor trainer sessions for the week included a couple of high intensity work outs, built around pyramids, off the bike exercises and some fun with the one legged exercises. Yeah right. Anyone who has tried the one legged exercise knows how hard it is! But it sorts out the technique, is a great for strength and a real mental test.
Saturday's brick was a bit of a blow out done over a 60 km circuit close to home. A decent road surface with little or no wind on an undulating course with a couple of steady climbs. Two and half laps gave me 145 km and then straight into a 1 hour plus run. Felt pretty comfortable getting off the bike and got into a reasonable rhythm and managed to keep the form tidy. The only down side has been the heat and humidity. Recovered pretty well and got into a 2 hour plus run on Sunday again in the stinking hot humid weather. Just a quick update but with three weeks to go its time to start thinking about winding down the big miles, tapering, resting up and putting it all together on the day!

The New Year .......

.....this time

Looking back on January the training has gone pretty much to plan. After the Christmas break I took two weeks off work and spent that time training and getting some work done at home around the orchard. I scheduled some big miles - long runs, bricks and rides. The great summer in Northland has made some of the runs during the middle of the day a challenge. The first run back after the Christmas break turned into a bit of a nightmare, with not enough attention to hydration. It came on the back of a 3 hour ride and by the three quarter mark I was fried - not enough attention to hydration and nutrition. The solution has been to find more taps on the run (not so easy in the rural areas), and to increase the intake of hammer e-caps.

So the past couple of weeks have seen some good volume and quality miles with about 25 hours each week.

Since being back at work I’ve had to maximise the time available so have been giving the indoor trainer bit of a workout and squeezing in a swim during the day at lunchtime. The indoor trainer sessions have been focused entirely on strength - with last nights main set being 20 x one leg in the big chain ring. I have been working on the core strength using an 8 minute workout made up of 5 individual exercises. This is a brutal little session and the gaol is to do it 3 or 4 times each session. No where near it yet. This stuff is gut busting – sitting in the chair position has got to be my favourite out of this lot - yeah right.

This weekend is a swim 2km, bike 90 km, run 20 km session on Saturday, backed up with a long ride on Sunday (6 hours plus).

With 4 weeks to go the plan is to gradually reduce the volume but maintain the quality across all three disciplines. It includes a detailed plan for the last 10 days leading into IM to ensure that I’m well rested and raring to go.

The New Year....

A christmas break....

The last 6 weeks have flown by with plenty happening. The half IM at the Blue Lakes in Rotorua was a pretty memorable day. Yet again Steve Hooks turned on a great event in a great location. Hooksie has a passion for putting on great events for triathletes, and does a great job.

It was also a great opportunity to catch up with the Alpe Crew. Steve, Simone and Chris his photographer and also Kieran and Kathy.

Looking back on the event I have to say I was pretty happy overall with how it came together. The only negative aspect perhaps was a slower than anticipated run. Perhaps a little pay back for going to hard on the bike - a lesson to be learnt there "Pacing not racing." So far as the swim was concerned the navigation was pretty difficult. A straight line drag up the Blue Lake with only a couple of markers made it difficult to navigate. The eye sight isn't that flash either so it was a case of sit on someone else's feet for a big part. Overall a pretty comfortable swim. Onto the bike and it was one of those days when everything seemed just right. Fortunately or unfortunately I had done the half in 2006 on a pretty limited preparation, and suffered through the bike. This year was different, and I had a bike split of 2 hours 43 mins. Onto the the run and again I had memories of the 2006 race. I struggled with the track around the lake but once onto the road section I was able to get into a bit of a rhythm. Overall a pretty good day with a total time of 5 hours 4 mins.

For the next week I maintained the volume of training and finished the week with a solid long ride. From the weekend before Christmas until just after new year I took a break, well sort of. Christmas was with family away from home and then it was off to the beach for a camping holiday. Including a spot of fishing. Also an opportunity to get in some good long sea swims.

So the camping holiday has come to an end and now I have a couple of weeks at home. Some big miles with a focus on big bricks and running some long slow distance.

Train,eat, sleep, work

is pretty much how the past 8 weeks have been. The training has gone pretty much to plan to date with no dramas. The long rides, long runs and bricks have all been at about 70% to 80% effort, with the emphasis on improvement.

A typical week over the past month looks a bit like this -
Monday Swim 2.5 km Run 70 minutes
Tuesday Swim 2.0 km Bike Indoor Trainer (Main set 15 x 1 min each one leg in BCR)
Wednesday Swim 2.5 km Run 90 minutes
Thursday Swim 3.0 km Bike Indoor Trainer 1 hour plus stretching/strength exercise
Friday Off
Saturday Bike 2 hours with 2 hour run (negative split the run)
Sunday Bike 160 km (5 and half hours)

The long rides have been a good mix of solid hill work combined with some mind blowing flat. The long rides take me to Dargaville across to Ruawai (kumara country) and through a back road that joins the state highway short of Whangarei. This ride has been a favourite for a long while. About 40 km of flat around Ruawai which is mentally testing - then into some good rolling hills, one hill which is a 12 minute all out low gear grovel. In the past couple of years I did the loop the other way to avoid this nasty little bump.

Coming up in the next couple of weeks is Hooksie's Rotorua Half IM over a challenging course. I'm looking forward to testing the legs. I intend to continue on with the training up until Xmas and then taking a short break to freshen up mentally and physically. Still a long way to go
and a short break will help with recovery after the half.