More DIY, My Support Team, Taper Week 1!

More DIY

During the long hours of training I think about nothing other than the task. The average speed/pace, cadence, heart rate, the next corner, the next hill.
If I do think of anything other than what is happening right at that moment, it usually doesn't commit to long term memory.
Getting ready to transport the bike by aircraft to Cairns is one of those things I think of while swimming, riding or running that I have kept forgetting to address.

I have a bike box which has sections where you fix the rims to the inside cover.
Normal skewers are either too long or too short. I also realised that I need to ensure the forks and rear stays are not bent or broken in the journey so I decided to make some fixings of my own.

I headed down to the local hardware supplier and bought some bubble wrap, nuts, washers, lock-tite, two threaded rods - 3/16th and 5/16th at 24 inches long.

The race wheels are now bolted to the inside of the bike box, ready for the trip. I won't use the wheels for training before Ironman. All I have to do now is let the air out of the tires and finish bubble wrapping them for the flight.
I'll take the time trial bars off the bike too. This will allow me to put on some new bar tape. Over the next week, in between rides, I'll try and get the Cervélo in the box. That will mean rolling the handlebars forward around the top tube to reduce the width of the bike when packed.
I am now wishing I had a spare wheel for the old Giant to ride and spin on so I could pack the Cervélo early and resolve issues that I haven't yet thought of!

I have to figure out how the rest of the stuff will go in too such as the track pump, helmet, shoes, pedals and wetsuit.

My Support Team

I would like to make a very special mention to my very own support team...
My wife - Michelle. She has been so tolerant of all the time I have had to spend in the garage or away training for the Ironman. She has sacrificed her training schedule so I can concentrate on mine. She has kept the house running and helps to keep me focused.
I can't wait till the 9th of June when this is all over and I don't have the thoughts in the background of what training do I need to do that day and how is the intensity going to affect the following day's training sessions.
I really enjoy the constant planning and training a majority of the time but I just want to stop feeling like I am visiting when I have a day off. I miss my family...
My kids - Aishlyn and Liam. Aishlyn often sneaks into our bed in the middle of the night. In the morning she finds it strange that I am sometimes still there in the morning of a weekend. It is lovely seeing the kids' big smiles when I wake up and tell them I am not training that day or until later.
Mum and Dad Watson - I/we are so lucky to have such lovely supportive parents like Michelle's mum and dad. They are truly amazing people. There is no way we would have got through the journey to Ironman  Cairns without the help they have given us. I am so greatful.

Tapering...

With the race three weeks away, I have started the first week of tapering. Yay!
I have recently read articles on the subject and learnt that the whole purpose of tapering is to reduce the chances or recover from possible over training injuries (a-hemm... my knees...) while maintaining consistency by not going any more than 48 or so hours between training for each discipline.
This ensures the neurological connections required to perform each discipline are maintained from the brain to the muscles.
How appropriate this concept is when you think about it in the context of my friend Sharn who suffers from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), an aggressive form of Motor Neurone Disease (MND). By merely training for the Ironman, she is helping to fit this awful disease.
I might be blogging/talking and training like I am trying to qualify for Kona but in reality this Ironman will be all about supporting Sharn in fulfilling her dream of completing a full Ironman 140.6 race. I cannot physically help her but I will be one of many in Cairns to give her and Craig moral support. I talk a bit more about this in a previous post.
For more information on Sharn, her story, Ironman journey and how you can help please visit the  Shining4Sharn website: http://www.shining4sharn.org.au/.

Training this week:
So this is the plan for this week...
Monday: 2hrs spin - tempo
Tuesday: Rest. Knees are still tender...
Wednesday: Morning 2km swim, Evening easy half hour run
Thursday: Morning 1hr moderate run
Friday: Morning 2km Swim, Evening: moderate spin
Saturday: Brick Session - Local bunch ride 65km, 15km easy run.
Sunday: Rest day (Maybe an openwater swim during the day).

26 days to go...

With the colder weather early morning training is now limited to swimming in fear of getting sick this close to the Ironman. 26 days away...

I don't mind the swimming. It is a good start to the day. Fridays are the best swim days at the moment. It must be because it is the end of the week, cold and people are trying their best to last till the weekend and the thought of swimming at 5:30am is probably the last thing on their minds.

I also found just before lunch time on a Saturday is when the pool is quieter. All the kids' learn to swim classes and squad is finished around then.

My swim time for 4km is now down to 1hr 12min. That's in a 25m pool. I don't stand up, tumble turn or push off the wall with the exception of my hand in aid to redirect my forward motion as I come past in a large swim turn to try limit contact with anything other than water.

I realise the open water will be a completely different experience but at the moment I can't see myself getting a chance to do an open water swim between now and Ironman. I see it as no big deal. I can swim the distance comforably and well aware of the problems associated with chop, swell, currents and the need for course correction.

I have two more weeks until tapering starts (26th of May) but as there have been a few things on at the moment and the training volume has been less it feels like I have already started.

I guess it is getting to that time of the training phase where motivation and commitment are challenged on a daily basis. Sometimes it is a case of saying to one's self, "JFDI"!

...(Just E-ffing Do It)...

I am so close now! 

I have been really enjoying the running lately with the increased distances at a pace that surprised me.

I am a lot more comfortable operating for extended periods at higher heart rates. I have also started to see it in some of my recent rides where usually I would be riding at around 130-137bpm with peaks of up to 150bpm, I have noticed higher speeds, cadence and peaks of up past 160bpm.

On the 30th of April I did a 25km run at 5 minutes per kilometre on a fairly hilly course. Particularly in the first 15km. I was holding back thinking I didn't want to over cook myself however I think I could have sustained 4:45min/km.

The next (last) Wednesday I wanted to try for 35km. I have been putting off the bigger distances, feeling I wasn't ready, worried about my ankle, birthdays, Easter, and illness.

This was to be my last big run before the race in June. There is no point in pushing for a marathon in training at this stage and after the previous week I was excited at the prospect getting the 35km under my belt.

I don't know what it was but I wasn't feeling as good as the previous week. I could feel a little discomfort under the knee cap at around 15km. By 20km I could start to feel the tension in the side of the knee, on the high camber side of the path I was running on. It didn't feel like it was going to become worse until I started to go up a slight rise at 21km. That is where the pain got quite bad. I backed off the pace and decided I could still do at least 30km if I just alternated the pressure by running on the side of the road, then path, then road again. My thinking was if I could just through the undulating parts of the course I was running, I would be okay on the flat sections.

No... By the time I got just over 1km past the turn around point near home, even the downward slopes were hurting the outside of both knees.

I stopped and tried to massage the Iliotibial Band (ITB) but nothing was going to stop the inflammation from causing the pain.

I had no choice but to turn around and jog/walk back home. The run distance fell short of the 35km by 12km.

So I have decided to start with a short distance again, around 10km and see how the knees go. I think part of the problem is the time trial position on the bike. I will be reviewing the bike fit over the next few days. I have already moved the TT bars back a little.

I am now alternating between riding and running of an evening with swimming in the mornings.

I really don't like my Tuesday "Tired" swimming set:

- 300m warmup. Start slow with speed increasing every 100m then 30 seconds recovery.

- 4 x 25m drills with 30 seconds recovery.

- 4 x 25m flat out with 30 seconds recovery.

- 4 x 100m flat out with 30 seconds recovery.

- 2 x 200m flat out with 30 seconds recovery.

- 1 x 400m with whatever is left, not leaving anything in reserve.

- Warm down

Give it a go and let me know what you think. It is only 1700m in total and you get to rest... ;-)

I think I'll enter the Western Sydney Ironman 70.3 in late November. With the training I have done for the full Ironman, I may as well. It will be 2 weeks after the Highland Fling mountain bike race in Budanoon. Perfect lead up to it!

Sorry... No pictures this post.

Pat signing off...

Weeks 9 to 11 - A write-off, Easter and the motivation for this craziness...

As I mentioned in my previous post, I was sick after the Tri NSW Club Champs in Forster.

I did no training between the 7th and 12th of April. On the Sunday when I went for a local ride and passed on the dreaded "lurgy" to my mate Phil during a morning ride.

I felt like death but I needed to do something... I was going stir crazy.

It wasn't until the 20th where I had almost shaken off the head cold, only having to blow my nose a few times today rather than a few times every hour.

Garmin Activity List between 2nd and 16th of April

Week 8 and Easter (Week 9)

Following illness and a huge few days of quite intense training sessions my legs were suffering from prolonged delayed onset muscle soreness ("The DOMS") and no amount of carbs I ate could fuel them up from the tiredness either.

Good Friday was my first early morning cold ride for the year, 90km and 10km run. 4.5 hours of training.

In the afternoon I was meant to do a 3km swim however at the 8km mark of the run I felt the effects of having nothing to eat for breakfast which resulted in me finishing the 10km then shuffling home from my usual start/end point.

After a piece of toast and peanut butter, I was good to go again. The kids wanted to go for a ride so we went to the local BMX track for a few laps. I was amazed at how quickly I had recovered from the morning's training. Peanut butter rocks!

The afternoon swim didn't eventuate. It was replaced with more eating at a local pub for my mum in law's birthday. The celebrations kicked on into the night but I was shattered by 8:30 and dozed in the lounge room while the kids watched movies.

Easter Saturday was meant to be a 150km ride then a 30km run.

That turned into a combined 130km Strava - April Gran Fondo and MacTri club Easter group ride along the M7 motorway bike path.

I did an extra 1h:30m before they arrived at 7:30, the 80-odd kilometres then a another 5 or 6km to hit the 130km I needed for the Gran Fondo. The day was getting on and I had to get ready to go out for my nephew's birthday.

I was starting to wonder if I was ever going to get a 30km run in before the race… It has been starting to stress me out.

Easter Sunday, I woke up with the start of bronchitis... Fan-bloody-tastic!

My voice sounded like Barry White. I guess the recent cold 5:15am rollouts were catching up with me.

Thankfully a rest day. Sort of... We took the kids to The Royal Easter Show. An all day fairy floss eating, thrill ride, show bag queuing marathon after the Easter Bunny delivered his bounty of choc-treats. We were there for almost 12 hours!

Needless to say, Easter Monday was a very slow day for the whole family. The kids ate chocolate, played with the goodies from the showbags and watched TV.

Michelle and I were just able to muster enough strength to make a coffee and sit outside in the morning sun. It took a while to get moving that day...

Week 10 & 11 (This week)

Early on ANZAC Day (Friday 25th April) morning, I went out for a mountain bike ride with some friends - Phil, Nico, Cam, Griffo and another fellow.

Phil washed out on a sandy corner and landed on a steel pipe sticking upright out of the ground, breaking at least one rib. I feel so bad for suggesting we go out to this particular trail. It has stopped his training for up to 6 weeks.

That Saturday was a 200km training ride on the M7 with some other guys (Craig, Jason, Luke and Justin) who will be also doing the Cairns Ironman. I'll tell you the reason for all of us doing this crazy stuff in a minute.

Hopefully I can meet up with the guys again before the race to do some long runs and much needed ocean swims.

Why do this?

I mentioned in my last post that I would talk about the reasons for all this training. You may already know that I am attempting my first full Ironman triathlon in Cairns.

The race involves participants to complete a 3.8km swim, 180km ride and a 42.2km marathon run.

There were a couple of reasons before I started this monumental task and now that I am

just over the halfway point of my 16 week training plan and 6 weeks away from the race, I have found a few more reasons.

- The adventure!

- Because I reckon I can and have always wanted to do one.

- To show a particular eff-wit who will remain nameless and anyone else who thinks I can’t do it that I can and will! Just thinking about the the eff-wit’s comments to my face makes me so angry and determined. This person doesn't even know me well enough to even make a comment… and to my face! The fat up-himself prick!

- My dad was a 12 year national champion spear fisherman, professional photographer and exceptional artist (still is). In some ways not fulfilling my (and his) aspirations of having a career in the diving industry makes me feel like I need to seek his , acceptance or acknowledgement in something and doing something as huge as an Ironman event might do it.

- I have always liked to push my physical boundaries and be satisfied in knowing that I am physically capable of doing something. Now that I am 41, lets just call it a mid-life crisis.  LOL!

-    - Breaking my ankle in 1997 put a stop to my running. Surgery to clean the joint in my ankle a few years later allowed me to walk and run without pain again.

      … It is a father - son thing…

The main reason for me choosing to enter the Cairns Ironman came when in November 2013 I attended a fundraising event in support of a friend Sharn who after nearly a year of tests was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (known as ALS), an aggressive form of Motor Neurone Disease (MND). At that stage Sharn had just completed a Half Ironman (1.9km swim, 90km ride and 21.1km run) and was setting her sights on a competing in a full Ironman event. This confirmed diagnosis obviously would put an end to her dream of doing an event of this kind.

During the fundraising event, Sharn announced that her dream of competing in an Ironman event was going to be a reality with the assistance of Craig, her husbands mate. She will be towed in the swim, assisted in the ride on a special recumbent bike and will do the marathon in a wheelchair where needed.

Sharn and Craig will have to do the race all themselves, without any help aside from words of encouragement. If they finish within the allocated cut-off time, they will be awarded the much deserved title of “Ironman”.

I will leave all the details for you to read on her website http://www.shining4sharn.org.au. Please take the time to read about this beautiful, inspiring lady and support her any way you can

...Needless to say I was so in awe of Sharn and Craig’s massive challenge that I decided there and then that I wanted to support her by sharing the experience and encouraging her along the way while helping to raise greater awareness of ALS and MND.

Macarthur Triathlon Club Duathlon Series 2014 Round 1 (27/04/2014)

April 2014 Strava Challenges... done...

Only 37 days left till the race and so much to do...