Well after months of training and planning race weekend had finally arrived and few nerves were starting to sink in about the challenge ahead on race day. With training straight through the event with next to no taper the ultimate question for all athletes is, How will my body go and the extra pressure of being first time over the distance there is always the element of doubt. Within the training group at www.triathlonandmultisportcoaching.com.au plenty of my training partners had completed several half and full ironman events in previous years so that help reassure that the training we had all been completing in the previous months was enough money in the bank for pay day.
Saturday check in day the crew got together for ride out over the bike course so we were all familiar with the transition and start of the bike leg as rather technical early on with a lot of twist and turns to get out onto the open roads.This was also good chance to get familiar with the 12m drafting rule required during the bike leg. I knew the roads as previously lived in Geelong and had trained several times over the race course so no real surprises for me mainly looking for potholes and sections of the course that were better to ride than others. On return from ride we headed down to the expo area on Geelong waterfront precinct to collect race bag goodies and get most important item the race number.
Next step was to go rack the bikes after placing all the required race numbers to bikes and race wheels checked over as bikes to be racked overnight . Once the transition was opened it was seagulls scrabbling for a fresh hot chip (chaos) as everyone wanted to have the same rack and with a first in best dressed approach the real estate was prime property. 1600 people into 1 rack usually would not fit but you will be surprised how some people try and cut in on your property. Bikes racked plenty of space for shoes / towel/ fuel belt etc was ready to roll for race start in less than 24 hours time.
Sunday Race day was upon us and with a 7 am start was early rise as decided to stay at home the night before with only a 30 min drive down to Geelong so 4.30 wake up breakfast and hit the road for 5.15 to be in Geelong for the opening of transition at 5.45am. With race start at 7 i was hoping to have my race down by half 12 so a race time of 5.30 as a predicted race time. Few things to be done first up pump tyres set up shoes in the area set aside from yesterday only to turn up and some tool has jammed his bike in the middle so next to no room for anything. Triathletes they are a different breed and now i am one of them (well part time anyway for next couple months). Tyres all done equipment layed out nutrition loaded up on the bike ready to roll. Transition is chaos as everyone half asleep still people every where so time to get out of there. The standard 1km line up for the toilets isn't the best feeling luckily enough i missed the Que and was suited up ready to pull on the wetsuit and put the toes in the water . Headed over to swim start area to give myself plenty of time to warm up as i was first wave off the start line after the pro men and women.
Race is underway and head out into the water to start the swim. In recent weeks i have had some shoulder issues and have struggled in the water more than normal so was not enjoying the early stages of the swim. Stayed with my age group heading out to the first swim cans then i hit a wall with my arms/ shoulders really struggled to get any rotation and my swim stroke was less than ordinary. With faster age groups coming through from the back was good chance to find some feet and sit on best i could for as long as i could and at stages this was not possible. As we headed for home was great to see land and the finish area was looking forward to ending the swim . One thing we have been training a lot on is time in transition areas use the dry land to make up time so this was firm in my mind as if i could pick up 30 secs here would be a bonus after a garbage swim. Dry land you bloody beauty wetsuit 3/4 down so limited the time to take off when at my bike. Ran through transition hard and got to my bike to find my coach going through the motions of heading out on the bike so good to see familiar face early on. Transition 1 went fairly well no issues and headed out on the bike. The bike exit was jammed packed so just had to wait in turn to get through . Jumped on at the mounting area and we are away, with early technical section through the Geelong gardens was important to get away to good clean start. As we headed out there was massive packs of cyclists on the narrows roads was almost impossible to avoid but keeping in mind the drafting rules the last thing i wanted to do is spend 4 mins in the penalty box so i hung back and kept my distance . The bike leg was pretty quick early on so controlled myself as time trialing isn't my strongest discipline . The first lap went really quick and my hydration was going well as the bike is good time to take on food and fluids to prepare for later in the day. The wind was starting to spring up towards the back end of the bike leg so was time to conserve the energy for the run in the back half so i could get off and get into my rhythm. As i rolled into transition took quick look at my Garmin to see 2.27 so was happy with the time as i had not pushed the bike full gas to have some run legs left. Another smooth transition was needed onto the run . Bike racked helmet off grab the fuel belt and away we go 21.1 km left to travel. Once out onto the run course was great to see all the training group at different stages during the bike but that was at quicker pace. First few km in the run was strange feeling as legs were working just didn't feel like it few looks at the watch to ensure i was not over racing (not much chance of that) The run was a 2 loop course threw the gardens at eastern beach and i had plenty of people flying past early on but i stuck to my race plan and continued at my own pace that i knew i could be comfortable at. Lap 1 was down and my hydration plan wearing my fuel belt paid off as i didn't have to rely on stopping at aid stations and was comfortable using the same products as i had throughout the training sessions previous. This was a good learning for the upcoming Ironman Melbourne. Passed through the transition area and headed for the last few km of the run to finish off my first half ironman. All was going well until we hit the 20km marker when we had to run up a steep walking path felt like i was running on the spot. This was a talking point from all people racing on the day(how steep was that hill) hit the 1km to go sign and good mate Dom Toole from back home in Rocky passed me so that gave me some extra energy to try stick with him in the last km of the race. Come down the finish shoot to see 5.02 something on the clock and i knew that my age group had started 3 mins behind the pros as i crossed the finish line i seen a high 5.03 so was just over the 5 hour mark. Official race time of 5.00.26 so missed the 5 hour mark by 26 sec and as most athletes do they start to think what could have i done to get that 26 sec back.
I had gone just under 30 mins better than first expected so more than happy to have firstly complete my first half and know that the training i have been doing will definitely help me achieve my goal on March 24 of completing an Ironman.
As i type this its less that 28 days to go so in the final phase of training and looking forward to the Melbourne Ironman.
Big thanks to Xavier Coppock who has coached me through the whole process one more stage to go .
Cheers Damo
Wednesday, 27 February 2013
Tuesday, 5 February 2013
First Half Ironman Ready to Roll
With Melbourne only some 7 weeks away the time is fast approaching to take on one of life's ultimate challenges to complete an ironman distance triathlon. To undertake this event planning and training a like needs to be well thought out combined with lead up races to prepare. With Geelong half ironman on the calendar some 7 weeks out from Melbourne is an ideal lead up event.
Geelong Urban Long Course will be my first journey over this distance 1.9 km swim / 90 km bike / 21.1 km run will let me know where i am at with my prep for Melbourne Ironman. With the training group i have been putting in some solid training to ensure the distance and time frame will be well and truly covered on race day. In recent weeks we have spent many hours in the hills out Kinglake area and pounding the pavement with some good 2 hour plus runs to get good quality miles in the legs for race day.
My objective is to complete the race on Sunday and getting through in good shape as a learning lesson for what is to come in 6 weeks time. I am lucky enough to be off in the first swim wave as are all the 35 - 39 Males so this will hope fully help me in the swim with the faster groups swimming past to get onto some feet to help pull through the swim leg. The bike course is little technical early as we head out of transition and out of the eastern gardens but once we exit the gardens its nice wide open roads and with the wind looking ok at this stage should make for a solid bike leg. The run is all based around the eastern gardens precinct and finishing along Geelongs waterfront area so very picturesque area to take the mind off the pain. All going well should be great day out and take another large step to completing my first Ironman event in march.
Good luck to all the TMC crew who we have been training with over these last few months race day is here.
Cheers Damo
Geelong Urban Long Course will be my first journey over this distance 1.9 km swim / 90 km bike / 21.1 km run will let me know where i am at with my prep for Melbourne Ironman. With the training group i have been putting in some solid training to ensure the distance and time frame will be well and truly covered on race day. In recent weeks we have spent many hours in the hills out Kinglake area and pounding the pavement with some good 2 hour plus runs to get good quality miles in the legs for race day.
My objective is to complete the race on Sunday and getting through in good shape as a learning lesson for what is to come in 6 weeks time. I am lucky enough to be off in the first swim wave as are all the 35 - 39 Males so this will hope fully help me in the swim with the faster groups swimming past to get onto some feet to help pull through the swim leg. The bike course is little technical early as we head out of transition and out of the eastern gardens but once we exit the gardens its nice wide open roads and with the wind looking ok at this stage should make for a solid bike leg. The run is all based around the eastern gardens precinct and finishing along Geelongs waterfront area so very picturesque area to take the mind off the pain. All going well should be great day out and take another large step to completing my first Ironman event in march.
Good luck to all the TMC crew who we have been training with over these last few months race day is here.
Cheers Damo
Monday, 7 January 2013
Training Camp
With the Xmas cheer over and done with for another year it was time to get some training in while having time off work. Coach Xavier had set down some good training days to make use of the time spare for all involved.With many of his athletes racing Ironman Melbourne was good to time to have a training camp.
Day 1. Was a 3hour ride around on some flat roads around werribbe south area followed by a 30 min steady run off the bike which turned into a race then nice cold water recovery at Williamstown beach .
Day 2. 4 hours up around King lake area where the terrain is very lumpy and some solid climbs. We had set down repeats of Humevale climb a 7 km climb which then turns into a 17 km circuit so by days end had completed 21km of climbing which is about 21km more than i have done in recent times. Once back at starting point this was followed by a 40 min run off the bike and with all the climbing in my legs i was on struggle street and the run was terrible but got through it. This was a good mental barrier to overcome as come race day i am sure i will be fighting the same feeling.
Completed set down 45msecond run late in the afternoon and legs were cactus.
Day 3. Recovery day steady 3 hour ride well it was far from it as the wind and rain decided to belt us all morning as we headed down the coast and legs were feeling every kilometre.With tail cross wind coming back help ease the pain on this recovery ride.
Day 4. King lake loop on the bike first up another 4 hours or so in the saddle with some more climbing to be done. As we rolled off from Kew Blvd we set sail for Kinglake and even rolling out of town each incline was a battle. After an hour i thought my day is over and few others in the group where tired and flat also. But as a group we rolled on towards king lake and the kilometres just kept clicking over and before we knew it we were at the base on the Kinglake climb. Once on the climb i just set my own tempo as i didn't have much choice and ticked away till we all regrouped at the top. After a fuel stop we headed back to base to complete the 40 min run set down after the ride.
Headed out on the run and settled into steady tempo and felt tired but able to tick over the kilometres . On completion of the run was warming up so another 5 hour training session had been completed.
Day 5. 2 hour run was set down on the program this would be my longest run time wise and at the end of a solid week of training would soon find out how i would go. We headed out from the famous Tan running track towards Port Melbourne along beach road and took a lap of Albert park lake and before we knew it the 2 hours had passed by to complete 20 km in just over 1hour 55 Mins was awesome feeling . Great way to end the week of training with personal best distance in running and also longest time i have run for.
Day 6 . Morning swim at Willy beach was on the menu first this morning and the weather gods were shining as the bay was calm and water was spot on temperature wise . My swimming has been badly neglected in the last couple weeks at it showed as i was in dire straights no strength and was very much a fish out of water today. This was followed by a 2 hour recovery ride which was much more enjoyable than the earlier recovery ride during the week.
So training camp all done and dusted for me as my duties with cycling commitments took over .
Great week of training with great group of people and looking forward to few more training sessions as we all move closer to lining up for Ironman Melbourne in late March.
Cheers Damo
Day 1. Was a 3hour ride around on some flat roads around werribbe south area followed by a 30 min steady run off the bike which turned into a race then nice cold water recovery at Williamstown beach .
Day 2. 4 hours up around King lake area where the terrain is very lumpy and some solid climbs. We had set down repeats of Humevale climb a 7 km climb which then turns into a 17 km circuit so by days end had completed 21km of climbing which is about 21km more than i have done in recent times. Once back at starting point this was followed by a 40 min run off the bike and with all the climbing in my legs i was on struggle street and the run was terrible but got through it. This was a good mental barrier to overcome as come race day i am sure i will be fighting the same feeling.
Completed set down 45msecond run late in the afternoon and legs were cactus.
Day 3. Recovery day steady 3 hour ride well it was far from it as the wind and rain decided to belt us all morning as we headed down the coast and legs were feeling every kilometre.With tail cross wind coming back help ease the pain on this recovery ride.
Day 4. King lake loop on the bike first up another 4 hours or so in the saddle with some more climbing to be done. As we rolled off from Kew Blvd we set sail for Kinglake and even rolling out of town each incline was a battle. After an hour i thought my day is over and few others in the group where tired and flat also. But as a group we rolled on towards king lake and the kilometres just kept clicking over and before we knew it we were at the base on the Kinglake climb. Once on the climb i just set my own tempo as i didn't have much choice and ticked away till we all regrouped at the top. After a fuel stop we headed back to base to complete the 40 min run set down after the ride.
Headed out on the run and settled into steady tempo and felt tired but able to tick over the kilometres . On completion of the run was warming up so another 5 hour training session had been completed.
Day 5. 2 hour run was set down on the program this would be my longest run time wise and at the end of a solid week of training would soon find out how i would go. We headed out from the famous Tan running track towards Port Melbourne along beach road and took a lap of Albert park lake and before we knew it the 2 hours had passed by to complete 20 km in just over 1hour 55 Mins was awesome feeling . Great way to end the week of training with personal best distance in running and also longest time i have run for.
Day 6 . Morning swim at Willy beach was on the menu first this morning and the weather gods were shining as the bay was calm and water was spot on temperature wise . My swimming has been badly neglected in the last couple weeks at it showed as i was in dire straights no strength and was very much a fish out of water today. This was followed by a 2 hour recovery ride which was much more enjoyable than the earlier recovery ride during the week.
So training camp all done and dusted for me as my duties with cycling commitments took over .
Great week of training with great group of people and looking forward to few more training sessions as we all move closer to lining up for Ironman Melbourne in late March.
Cheers Damo
Sunday, 2 December 2012
First race under the belt
With a couple months of training for the Ironman underway the summer triathlon season was fast approaching and my first race was ready to roll. My first race was race 1 in the Gatorade Series www.supersprint.com.au at St kilda over the distance of 500/ 20 /5 . Swim in the bay the bike leg along beach road and the run also along the walking track in front of the St kilda sea baths. The Gatorade series attracts big names and also massive numbers of competitors across all divisions. The race area is a small city and a hive of activity.
Entered into my age group of 35- 39 in total of 131 entrants come race day. I was in the second wave approx 50 people on the start line so my previous open water swimming training getting used to people bumping and crashing into you helped settle into the swim once the gun fired. Started to one side of the pack to get my rythym and stroke rate comfortable but that only lasted a short time as everyone was heading for the same swim marker. Swimming isnt my greatest strength but was mid pack most of the swim in my wave group so come out of the water with some work to do. Finished the swim in 11.05 and the next faze of the day is about to begin getting out of my wetsuit while running to transition. You think running up the beach to get on the bike would be fairly routine but struggled a little bit getting my breath after the swim. Once in transition i went through the motions of preparing to get on the bike, wetsuit off, shoes on, helmet on ,un hook bike then away we go. The bike leg up and down iconic beach road was always going to be quick and with 1500 atheletes was going to busier than the normal sunday morning beach road loop. Out onto the bike and tailwind straight away the TT bike felt great and floating along with some good race wheels under me. With time trialling not my strongest fortee in cycling i got into the groove nice and early and strarted to relax on the bike. With the course a 2 lap course i started to go through the field looking for numbers that were in my category but was not sure who was in the first wave or second wave but passed a few with the same category markings so was improving on my swim postion. Hydration i focused on during the bike to ensure that i had enough fluids on board for the run as always very hard to fill up during such a short run. I entered the bike transition and felt good with a time of 31.56 avg 38km/hr which i was happy with because i had not pushed the bike at all. Into run mode quick transition and out onto the run course. On the run i was passed quickly by faster runner in my division so i used this as a perfect chance to pace myself early on to get tempo rolling along. Watching my garmin i could see that my pace was increasing as the run went on. Heading for home the last 2km were my quickest getting close to 4.10m/km pace so fastest i have run since i have taken on this journey of preparing for an Ironman. Down into the finish area and crossed the line in 1.08.53. This being my first race i didnt know what to think of my time the suprising feeling that i had i was not totally smashed and felt good so encouraging signs early on.
Now was time to go home and look at all my info from the race and start picking it apart for improvement.
Results
http://www.supersprint.com.au/results/201213-series/gatorade-triathlon-series-201213/gatorade-triathlon-series-201213---race-1.aspx
I have now taken on a coach to acheive my goal of completing an Ironman and no better person than someone who has competed at the highest level for all Ironman atheletes (Kona) i now have the guideance of Xavier Coppock from www.triathlonandmultisportcoaching.com.au as my coach and look forward the challenges he has set heaing into the unknown.
Not sure what the next race is at this stage but i will update in coming week.
Thanks to all that are following this journey and all the positive comments.
Cheers Damo
Entered into my age group of 35- 39 in total of 131 entrants come race day. I was in the second wave approx 50 people on the start line so my previous open water swimming training getting used to people bumping and crashing into you helped settle into the swim once the gun fired. Started to one side of the pack to get my rythym and stroke rate comfortable but that only lasted a short time as everyone was heading for the same swim marker. Swimming isnt my greatest strength but was mid pack most of the swim in my wave group so come out of the water with some work to do. Finished the swim in 11.05 and the next faze of the day is about to begin getting out of my wetsuit while running to transition. You think running up the beach to get on the bike would be fairly routine but struggled a little bit getting my breath after the swim. Once in transition i went through the motions of preparing to get on the bike, wetsuit off, shoes on, helmet on ,un hook bike then away we go. The bike leg up and down iconic beach road was always going to be quick and with 1500 atheletes was going to busier than the normal sunday morning beach road loop. Out onto the bike and tailwind straight away the TT bike felt great and floating along with some good race wheels under me. With time trialling not my strongest fortee in cycling i got into the groove nice and early and strarted to relax on the bike. With the course a 2 lap course i started to go through the field looking for numbers that were in my category but was not sure who was in the first wave or second wave but passed a few with the same category markings so was improving on my swim postion. Hydration i focused on during the bike to ensure that i had enough fluids on board for the run as always very hard to fill up during such a short run. I entered the bike transition and felt good with a time of 31.56 avg 38km/hr which i was happy with because i had not pushed the bike at all. Into run mode quick transition and out onto the run course. On the run i was passed quickly by faster runner in my division so i used this as a perfect chance to pace myself early on to get tempo rolling along. Watching my garmin i could see that my pace was increasing as the run went on. Heading for home the last 2km were my quickest getting close to 4.10m/km pace so fastest i have run since i have taken on this journey of preparing for an Ironman. Down into the finish area and crossed the line in 1.08.53. This being my first race i didnt know what to think of my time the suprising feeling that i had i was not totally smashed and felt good so encouraging signs early on.
Now was time to go home and look at all my info from the race and start picking it apart for improvement.
Results
http://www.supersprint.com.au/results/201213-series/gatorade-triathlon-series-201213/gatorade-triathlon-series-201213---race-1.aspx
I have now taken on a coach to acheive my goal of completing an Ironman and no better person than someone who has competed at the highest level for all Ironman atheletes (Kona) i now have the guideance of Xavier Coppock from www.triathlonandmultisportcoaching.com.au as my coach and look forward the challenges he has set heaing into the unknown.
Not sure what the next race is at this stage but i will update in coming week.
Thanks to all that are following this journey and all the positive comments.
Cheers Damo
Tuesday, 13 November 2012
Stepping up the volume
A question asked by some many people when you explain what you are training for is ,
How do you find time?
Coming from a cycling background over the last 20 years and concentrating on one discipline the leap to train for an Ironman is a very challenging obstacle to overcome. Habits are the hardest to break and being a cyclist is the feeling you have to be on the bike 6-7 days a week and the old attitude there is no substitute for kilometers. With three disciplines to engage and focusing on long distance events will always be a juggling act.
In the recent few weeks i have had good fortune of getting solid training in the bank (money saved now is cash to spend later) across all three sports. Slowly building up to prevent injuries incurred in steeping up the load. I personally have had a good run with injuries over the years but thats as a cyclist. Once the running load increases the impact is a lot more savage thnt pedalling round on the bike. One bonus of living in Melbourne is being spoilt for choice across all disciplines to train either in a group or squad or even solo and so many options.
My current weekly training consists of 3 swim sessions ,4 bike sessions and 4 run sessions so currently going from 5 training sessions a week to doubling that with approx 10 - 12 sessions a week no training for an Ironman. All this to fit round my normal day job as a project manager currently working 45- 50 hours a week with www.mcelligotts.com.au at Eastern treatment plant Carrum which is 50 minute drive each way currently to and from work.
This last week has been really good with better weather and some spare time with Melbourne cup public holiday mid week really help step up the workload.
Weekly Training schedule last week Nov 5 - 12
Monday am 1.5 km swim set 70 km bike pm 8 km run
Tuesday am 90 km bike 2 km swim pm 8 km run
Wednesday am 2km swim set pm 12km run session with tri group
Thursday pm 60 km bike including Footscray cycling club crit
Friday Rest Day
Saturday am 85 km bike pm afternoon at the races Emirates Stakes day
Sunday am 90 km bike pm 14km run
Weekly total Swim 5.5km Bike 395km Run 42 km and a few power naps in between.
I will be happy if i can maintain solid consistency like last week over the next few months to build for www.ironmanmelbourne.com .
It can be done but as we all know each week throws up suprises.
Damo
How do you find time?
Coming from a cycling background over the last 20 years and concentrating on one discipline the leap to train for an Ironman is a very challenging obstacle to overcome. Habits are the hardest to break and being a cyclist is the feeling you have to be on the bike 6-7 days a week and the old attitude there is no substitute for kilometers. With three disciplines to engage and focusing on long distance events will always be a juggling act.
In the recent few weeks i have had good fortune of getting solid training in the bank (money saved now is cash to spend later) across all three sports. Slowly building up to prevent injuries incurred in steeping up the load. I personally have had a good run with injuries over the years but thats as a cyclist. Once the running load increases the impact is a lot more savage thnt pedalling round on the bike. One bonus of living in Melbourne is being spoilt for choice across all disciplines to train either in a group or squad or even solo and so many options.
My current weekly training consists of 3 swim sessions ,4 bike sessions and 4 run sessions so currently going from 5 training sessions a week to doubling that with approx 10 - 12 sessions a week no training for an Ironman. All this to fit round my normal day job as a project manager currently working 45- 50 hours a week with www.mcelligotts.com.au at Eastern treatment plant Carrum which is 50 minute drive each way currently to and from work.
This last week has been really good with better weather and some spare time with Melbourne cup public holiday mid week really help step up the workload.
Weekly Training schedule last week Nov 5 - 12
Monday am 1.5 km swim set 70 km bike pm 8 km run
Tuesday am 90 km bike 2 km swim pm 8 km run
Wednesday am 2km swim set pm 12km run session with tri group
Thursday pm 60 km bike including Footscray cycling club crit
Friday Rest Day
Saturday am 85 km bike pm afternoon at the races Emirates Stakes day
Sunday am 90 km bike pm 14km run
Weekly total Swim 5.5km Bike 395km Run 42 km and a few power naps in between.
I will be happy if i can maintain solid consistency like last week over the next few months to build for www.ironmanmelbourne.com .
It can be done but as we all know each week throws up suprises.
Damo
Monday, 12 November 2012
Open water swimming
Another task added to the long ongoing list of items to complete prior to competing in my first ironman is to get used to the open water swimming in the ocean . With summer on its way (not sure when) it was time to get a wetsuit purchased and start getting in some hours in the open water. The crew at www.xosize.com.au fitted me up with a suit from www.rocketsciencesports.com and instantly felt comfortable on and had no restriction in the shoulders which for my poor swim stroke is a must. So all was in place to attend monday night open water swimming session with www.triathlonandmultisportcoaching.com.au coach Xavier Coppock
http://xaviercoppock.blogspot.com.au/ . Weekend weather in Melbourne had been fantastic mid to high 20 degree days woke up monday morning and still warm but a howling wind at 5 am getting ready for work so i knew that the evening session would be interesting. By the time the session rolled round the wind had swung around from the south so the swells had started to roll in some awesome sets of waves.
Suited up and we headed towards the water crew of a dozen or so committed or stupid people jumped into the water and got set for the nights session. Coach had instructed to swim out to a buoy couple hundred metres off shore and head back into shore to practice some deep water starts. This is where the fun begins. Started to head out off shore and the waves were smashing us all over place 50 m forward then 50 m back this continued several times all we could do was laugh and keep pushing on. Finally i had to abort this mission and headed back towards the calmer waters in the shallows. With a few other first timers also there we all shared our battle stories. As the session went further into the evening so did the amount of surfboards getting peeled off cars roofs and even surf boat from local surf lifesaving club was out.By the time the session finished we were dodging surfboards so was time to call it a night.
Great learning curve every open water swim will be a breeze after this session.
First race of triathlon season will be on in just under 2 weeks time Race 1 of the Gatorade series in Melbourne over a sprint distance format so will be nice to have a full race hit out to see what i need to work on in the next few months heading into Ironmn Melbourne in march 2013.
http://www.supersprint.com.au/events/gatorade-triathlon-series-201213/race-1---st-kilda.aspx
Will keep you posted with upoming events and results as the season progresses.
Damo
http://xaviercoppock.blogspot.com.au/ . Weekend weather in Melbourne had been fantastic mid to high 20 degree days woke up monday morning and still warm but a howling wind at 5 am getting ready for work so i knew that the evening session would be interesting. By the time the session rolled round the wind had swung around from the south so the swells had started to roll in some awesome sets of waves.
Suited up and we headed towards the water crew of a dozen or so committed or stupid people jumped into the water and got set for the nights session. Coach had instructed to swim out to a buoy couple hundred metres off shore and head back into shore to practice some deep water starts. This is where the fun begins. Started to head out off shore and the waves were smashing us all over place 50 m forward then 50 m back this continued several times all we could do was laugh and keep pushing on. Finally i had to abort this mission and headed back towards the calmer waters in the shallows. With a few other first timers also there we all shared our battle stories. As the session went further into the evening so did the amount of surfboards getting peeled off cars roofs and even surf boat from local surf lifesaving club was out.By the time the session finished we were dodging surfboards so was time to call it a night.
Great learning curve every open water swim will be a breeze after this session.
First race of triathlon season will be on in just under 2 weeks time Race 1 of the Gatorade series in Melbourne over a sprint distance format so will be nice to have a full race hit out to see what i need to work on in the next few months heading into Ironmn Melbourne in march 2013.
http://www.supersprint.com.au/events/gatorade-triathlon-series-201213/race-1---st-kilda.aspx
Will keep you posted with upoming events and results as the season progresses.
Damo
Sunday, 30 September 2012
Duathlon Race Day 23-9-12
With a couple months since last Duathlon with Western Suburbs Tri club was time to see how or if improvement had progressed in the last couple months. With busy times with Genesys Pro Cycling team and work commitments juggling the training has been a great learning curve on what will intensify over the next 6 months heading towards Ironman Cairns 2013. In the last 2 weeks the health been very ordinary and have had no real consistant training block after putting in a few solid rides during the Tour of Murray week was going to be a test.
My running has been improving slowly getting my times faster / km and a lot more comfortable. The week leading into this race i had only managed to get one run of 6km is all week. Not ideal but it is what it is. Headed out saturday morning with training partner Daniel Hopper for our usual 80-90 km on the TT bike and legs were suprisingly ok and with the weather starting to warm up was even better not to be rugged up to the hilt. With bike leg only 18.5km long in the race the intensity would be the killer after a crap couple weeks of training.
Woke up sunday morning after a late night saturday and was on struggle street but i knew that i needed to get down early so i could get a solid warm up and with the wind that was howling the bike was going to be tough. Registration done online made for a quick easy number pick up and get out and warm up. Rode for 25 mins to get the legs rolling before i decided to pull on the running shoes..com Pulled on the new race suit from www.champ-sys.com (Thanks Andy) and headed off to get the run legs on. With all the warm ups done it was time to race.
Countdown was done and we are off and the gun runners were into it and i was eating there dust very quickly. The lead guys are very quick so settled into my own tempo (dont have much choice) was running at 4.15 min/km which for myself was improvement from 4.40 at last race. After first turnaround i felt in ok condition so just monitored my pace on my garmin as the run went on i slowed to 4.30 pace at the back end of the run. First run completed in 21.26 a 1min.34 sec improvement from previous race so considering the amount of training i had missed in the last couple weeks was happy. The hardest decision of day do i start with bike shoes already clipped in or not , went with standard cyclist response put shoes on first. Was postioned half way along transition area so required minimal running and after watching previous people taking ages to get going was the smart choice as we were straight into a headwind so all the power was needed.
Bike leg was straight into a strong headwind so had to get straight into a good cadence so the legs could feel half normal. With dark storm clouds starting to form the idea of the Uturns was going to be fun. Once we hit the tailwind section speeds around 50 km/hr along the Altona forshore dodging speed humps was a good buzz on the TT bike in full swing.One poor starter hit the deck and was taking a nap on the grass as we came past. The headwind section each of the 3 laps was hard going but the reward was ripping tailwind coming back. Bike leg was over very quickly and had made up a hand full of positions.In the back half of the last lap on the bike start preparing the legs for final run. This section of the race was going to hurt the most due to my lack of training in previous weeks. Headed onto the run and the first kilometer felt resonable so got into rythym early and wanted to keep pace even then after 2nd km was starting to feel the pinch and slowed during the middle section of the final 5 km rum.The next 2 km felt like i was dragging a car tyre behind me and my pace was around 4.40 min/km in this time i was passed by the few i had rounded up on the bike leg and was in damage control as i headed into the headwind towards the final turnaround point. Once i hit the final turnaround i pushed on and pace increased to 4.20min/km for the last 1.5 k to finish off strong. With final run complete in 23.08 was fair bit slower than first 5 km run leg but a 40 sec improvement on previous race . Total race time of 1.16.58 was a 3 min improvement on my first race earlier in the season.
Summer season fast approaching this means crits and triathalons a plenty coming up.
Damo
My running has been improving slowly getting my times faster / km and a lot more comfortable. The week leading into this race i had only managed to get one run of 6km is all week. Not ideal but it is what it is. Headed out saturday morning with training partner Daniel Hopper for our usual 80-90 km on the TT bike and legs were suprisingly ok and with the weather starting to warm up was even better not to be rugged up to the hilt. With bike leg only 18.5km long in the race the intensity would be the killer after a crap couple weeks of training.
Woke up sunday morning after a late night saturday and was on struggle street but i knew that i needed to get down early so i could get a solid warm up and with the wind that was howling the bike was going to be tough. Registration done online made for a quick easy number pick up and get out and warm up. Rode for 25 mins to get the legs rolling before i decided to pull on the running shoes..com Pulled on the new race suit from www.champ-sys.com (Thanks Andy) and headed off to get the run legs on. With all the warm ups done it was time to race.
Countdown was done and we are off and the gun runners were into it and i was eating there dust very quickly. The lead guys are very quick so settled into my own tempo (dont have much choice) was running at 4.15 min/km which for myself was improvement from 4.40 at last race. After first turnaround i felt in ok condition so just monitored my pace on my garmin as the run went on i slowed to 4.30 pace at the back end of the run. First run completed in 21.26 a 1min.34 sec improvement from previous race so considering the amount of training i had missed in the last couple weeks was happy. The hardest decision of day do i start with bike shoes already clipped in or not , went with standard cyclist response put shoes on first. Was postioned half way along transition area so required minimal running and after watching previous people taking ages to get going was the smart choice as we were straight into a headwind so all the power was needed.
Bike leg was straight into a strong headwind so had to get straight into a good cadence so the legs could feel half normal. With dark storm clouds starting to form the idea of the Uturns was going to be fun. Once we hit the tailwind section speeds around 50 km/hr along the Altona forshore dodging speed humps was a good buzz on the TT bike in full swing.One poor starter hit the deck and was taking a nap on the grass as we came past. The headwind section each of the 3 laps was hard going but the reward was ripping tailwind coming back. Bike leg was over very quickly and had made up a hand full of positions.In the back half of the last lap on the bike start preparing the legs for final run. This section of the race was going to hurt the most due to my lack of training in previous weeks. Headed onto the run and the first kilometer felt resonable so got into rythym early and wanted to keep pace even then after 2nd km was starting to feel the pinch and slowed during the middle section of the final 5 km rum.The next 2 km felt like i was dragging a car tyre behind me and my pace was around 4.40 min/km in this time i was passed by the few i had rounded up on the bike leg and was in damage control as i headed into the headwind towards the final turnaround point. Once i hit the final turnaround i pushed on and pace increased to 4.20min/km for the last 1.5 k to finish off strong. With final run complete in 23.08 was fair bit slower than first 5 km run leg but a 40 sec improvement on previous race . Total race time of 1.16.58 was a 3 min improvement on my first race earlier in the season.
Summer season fast approaching this means crits and triathalons a plenty coming up.
Damo
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