TriNSW Club Champs and Training... and not...

On Saturday the 5th of April I raced in the Triathlon NSW Club Championships at Forster on the mid-north coast of New South Wales.

It was my first open water swim under race conditions since the mid 90s.

It was also my first swim using the new wetsuit.

Wow! How floaty are these things! It was quite hard to get used to because my feet were so high it was hard keeping them low enough in the water to kick.
It wasn't until about 2/3rds of the way through the swim to figure out an effective kick style.

The Swim (1km):

I was pleasantly surprised with my actual swim time over the 1 kilometre - 18m:32s, from the beach start which was about 30m from the edge of the water to the time I stood up ready to run out of the water. Pretty good considering it was mostly arms...

Thankfully there were no big course corrections necessary. I stayed about mid-pack of the 116 other athletes in my start wave which worked well because anytime someone started to swim across my line it would prompt me to have a quick look at my heading. I mostly used the sand ripples on the bottom for the way out, in and across in the shallower water to help navigate. Something I have learnt from years of diving.

My swim looks a bit wonky but the Garmin does that in open water
I can't tell how accurate it is.

I would be interested to see what my heart rate was just before the start! I was so nervous!

Once the start was called, we were away and surviving the swim out of the surf zone was now my only focus. The surf conditions were small and perfect for the race.

The first 100m or so were okay as we swam the easy flowing rip out past the surf zone. I only had to deal with two, maybe three medium size, clean waves. They had very little power to them.

It seemed like the fast pace almost where the rip met deeper water around 150m out.

Due to the surge, it felt like I was making two strokes forward and one stroke back. That was about the time I was wondering to myself what hell I was thinking... this is only 1km and I got the impression I was the last in the field!
I was having difficulty getting a comfortable kick rhythm. The wetsuit was too floaty so I found myself just using my arms most of the time.

On the next few single stroke breaths I checked, tweaked my course and had a look around for my position. I was around the front quarter of the group with a few bubble trails ahead to follow.

The surge or slight current pushed me over a little too close to the first turn buoy at the 375m mark but the congestion wasn't too bad. I think I swam over the top of one guy and also had it happen to me once. A few breath strokes and back into the again.

There had to be a current sweeping us north because once I cleared that first turn it felt like I could finally settle in to the swim.

I found myself swimming alone most of the time without anyone in front of me which I preferred. I had a few foot tappers and side swipes from others as they or I occasionally course corrected.

We headed north, between two orange buoys, then left around the second turning buoy to head west and found the sand becoming visible again in the murk below.
I could see the sand ripples which meant I could navigate better.
I could now keep my head down and concentrate on my stroke and kicking style.

We had two more turns, one to the (left) south back toward the start and then right into the surf zone and to the beach.

Transition was a bit slow due to the small loose gravel rocks in the transition area. I decided to run to the mount point, around 70m away) in my riding shoes.
I was watching some who didn't run in shoes with great amusement as they tip-toed through the rocks like they were doing the "The Bindi Dance".

The Ride (30km):

After my Google Street View analysis of the bike course mentioned in my previous post I felt well acquainted with what was to come however the course lap seemed shorter than I expected.
The best thing about it was Street View has a fairly wide angle lense and makes the gradient look a lot steeper than it really is.

This was my first ride with the new Garneau Vorttice aero helmet.

For the first five kilometres my neck was feeling the strain while I lifting my head back in a aero position under the extra weight of the larger helmet than I am used to. I was fine after a while. But was occasionally buffered around by a head wind coming from the south east.

It was very hard to adhere to the non-drafting rule which is 7.5 metres between bikes. There were so many people out on the course that it was pretty much impossible.

I just made sure I was making forward progress on the rider(s) in front of me. There were two riders that passed me in the bike leg. I caught and passed both.

One of them was a guy from another club that sat on my wheel for more than 6km. He made a couple passes then died on the pinch climbs which meant I had to surge to pass him again.
Every time I passed him, he just jumped back on my wheel. The officials on the motor bikes even saw what he was doing a couple of times but didn't penalise him. That really pi$$ed me off so I made for a break away close to the end of the last lap where there were plenty of slower riders and a few sketchy corners.
It looked like he wasn't very comfortable cornering at speed so I also used that to my advantage. He looked like a good runner so I wanted to get some distance between us before we got to the run.

My average speed was 36.12kph. Pretty good considering the headwind and course terrain.

The Run (8km):

The run was a fairly flat with two laps of a 4km out and back course. There were only a few rises in the bridge between Forster and Tuncurry.

It was hard to get passed people as the footpath over the bridge was so narrow. My pace started out as 3:55/km but dropped as I hit traffic.

I was hoping to keep a 4:10/km pace, the Garmin says I did 4:18/km but the official results reckon it did 4:01/km. I'm not going to argue.

;-)

My overall time for the race was 1h:46m:12s

Training... and not...

During the week before the race my six year old daughter had been coughing all over everyone in the family. I managed to avoid getting sick until the Sunday night we got back. It was about 8:30pm and my throat felt like I had swallowed razor blades.
It is now Friday and I think I am just starting to feel a bit better. This morning I was able to climb the stairs at the train station without wheezing... Awesome...

I have been stressed out about not being able to train. I was actually looking forward to my planned 2/3rd IM distance on Saturday which included a 2.6km swim, a Strava - 130km - April Gran Fondo and a 28km run.

I was going to back it up with the final MacTri club triathlon race followed by a 2-3hr ride on Sunday.
... Not gonna happen...

With this chest & head cold and achilles soreness I have no chance of doing any of this...

If I am feeling okay I might head out to Appin or Glenbrook for a mountain bike ride.

Next time... My motivation for taking on the challenge of an Ironman triathlon...

Bye for now.
:Pat

MacTri Club Champs and the NSW Club Champs

I have just received the pre-race briefing for this Saturday's NSW Club Championships (1k/30k/8k).
This will be my first open water swim under race conditions in years. It will also be my first race in the wetty.

... Just doing some research on the ride leg for this Saturday... Thank goodness for Google - Street View ;-)

I have had to modify the training plan again this week to cater for this weekend. I was due to do a 32km interval run today (Wednesday) but I don't want to smash my self too much before the weekend.
Last night's strength training at the gym concentrated on the smaller muscles in the shoulder and back. My core was still fairly tired from the weekend.

The following weekend (13th of April) there is another club race (I think). I'll have to get back into the big training after this weekend rather than saving myself for the smaller races. I'll start treating them like mini "brick" sessions as part of a larger day of suffering. This means my club race times may drop a little bit.

Macarthur Triathlon Club Championships (Tri Series Round 7)

The official results from the MacTri Club Championships haven't been posted yet however going by the Garmin, my time was sub one hour for the 500/20/4 on the MacTri club course which is great!

I wore the new MacTri tri-suit for the first time in a swim. I really felt the drag of the suit in the water and forgot to hit the button as soon as I got out of the water but it looks like my swim time was about the same or a fraction faster than last time when I was using togs. That would suggest I am getting faster over that distance. I was out in front out of the 4 guys in my lane until I got a toe cramp at around 150m. I wasn't very comfortable.
I had the Garmin on my right hand to stop it getting bashed against the lane rope during the swim-stampede. I guess I am just used to having a watch on the left.
As I mentioned earlier, I could feel the drag added by wearing the tri-suit in lieu of togs. Aside from this the suit performed well during the ride and run. I just have to get used to it in the water.

The bike leg was a lot faster than last time (Round 6 on the 9th of March) too. The average speed was up from 35.3kph to 38.5kph.

The run leg was better too. 4:05 per kilometre pace. In Round 6 the run pace was 4:12 per km. Going to have to try and crack the 4 minute per km mark on that 4km course as a goal!

:Pat

Road bike to Time Trial/Triathlon bike transformation

10 weeks and 3 days to the big day...

Ok... So I have a Cervélo S3. It is a road bike but with a few modifications can be a pretty good Time Trial (TT) bike.

Whack some on TT bars, drop the stem 10mm, slide the saddle forward, bolt on a dual bottle cage rack under the seat and tah-dah...
My poor Cervélo...
It isn't going to be the most comfortable thing to sit on for 180 kilometres... I dare not try buying a $200 TT seat after the recent wetsuit and helmet purchases, not that it would help comfort-wise too much anyway. TT bikes are not made for comfort. they are made for speed.

The question is should I bring out the TT helmet for the MacTri club champs race this weekend? It is only 20km. I think the NSW Club Champs in Forster the following weekend will be a better opportunity to use the TT helmet but I am thinking of removing the dual bottle cage rack and one cage in the frame for both races. It will be unnecessary weight and drag. I certainly do not need four bottles of electrolytes for these 20 and 30 kilometre races...

The weather is not looking very good at the moment. I hope it clears for the weekend. I didn't do a run last night because it was bucketing-down however I did another 4 kilometre swim.

Looks like I'll have to head to the gym for some strength training while this wet weather is around.

Here is a quick look at this week's training as of Thursday the 27th of March.

On Wednesday next week I am meant to do what would be my longest run ever - 32km as an interval structure - 5k easy, 5k at 4:30min/km, 12k easy, 5k at 4:30min/km & 5k easy. With the NSW Club Championships coming up that weekend I am a bit hesitant to do the 32kms and sap my energy systems before needing to call on them at the NSW Club Champs next weekend.

What I have done for this Saturday is backed off the intensity of the "brick" - ride and run session in the morning. In the afternoon, I'll take the wetsuit for it's first swim. With all this rain making the water dirty with run-off it might be best to swim in the salt water pool...

:Pat

My longest ride and swim ever...

Last Sunday I completed the Strava Gran Fondo for March. At 185 kilometers. I am fairly certain it was my longest ride ever.
My fellow 7 Peaks finisher - Phil and I started at 5:30am in Camden (south-west of Sydney) and rode 45km north to Penrith before turning west and climbed The Great Western Highway toward Springwood in the Blue Mountains.
From Springwood we headed north through Winmalee to stop for coffee at Richmond around 8:30.
We then rode through to Windsor and on to join the M7 orbital motorway (cycleway) for the trip home.
I felt good and was happy with the pace, around 29.4kph for the whole trip.

I also did my longest swim ever - 4km. I wasn't pushing it because I wanted to test out how I would go with toe, calf and full leg cramps. I only got a few at around the 3.5km mark, with one calf cramp that forced me to stop for around 30 seconds. So I am happy with the 1 hour 18 minute time it took. There were a few higher paced surges that probably contributed to the cramps but I think I could have done it a bit quicker.

I have just bought an Orca 3.8 wetsuit so I am ready for a bit of cold water swimming now that it is early autumn.

The Garneau Vorttice helmet just arrived. I'll get that on the weekend from the bro in-law bro. Bloody legend!

Things are starting to fall into place. All I need now is to concentrate on the big kays, in and out of the water.

I'll have to plan some regular open water swims in the ocean and at the Penrith Regatta Centre. Saturdays are the big days.

[Monday 24th of May]

The Melbourne Ironman race was on yesterday. While I was hanging out at home doing the lawns having brunch and doing normal weekend family get together things, two fellow MacTri members were smashing it out down south.

They did really well! Just over 9 and 13 hours. All through the day I was checking on their progress and as the hours passed it really started to psych me out as the realisation set in that in only 76 days from today I will be in the hurt locker for just as long as these guys. If it takes me longer, hopefully it won't be much more than that...

Now... Where's that training plan... I'd better review my training week.

Bye for now.

13 Weeks out: The "On Week", Resource Overload, Eating & helmets...

Training stats from 17th Feb to 13th Mar, 10:00am:

• Swimming 6h:21m/17.05km
• Cycling  16h:50m/416.51km
• Running  4h:07m/50.35km
• Gym      4h:00m

Week The "On Week"

After reading some articles on Ironman training and talking to an Ironman veteran late last week about my training, I started to worry about whether it is structured correctly or that I was (more accurately) blindly following the plan without thinking about training intensity and the "On Week - Off Week" methodology.

"On Week" meaning building and training at a higher intensity throughout the week and "Off Week" being the week for active recovery while still doing the large volume of training required to ensure the muscle endurance necessary to make it to and through the race.

The internet is full of articles and blogs discussing every aspect of training, nutrition and recovery. It is resource overload. I have so many articles that I want to read, adding them to Instapaper and Flipboard that I can't keep up!

This week is pretty full on. I am now looking forward to my "Off Week" next week! I have a half rest day tomorrow (Friday), thank goodness. All I have to do (somehow) is fit in a 5km swim. I am going out with Michelle (the missus). Good chance to carb-up for Saturday's big 4hr ride, 16km run and 2km swim. This will have been my first opportunity to have a "big day", linking all the disciplines together. I am thinking of doing it either at the Macquarie Fields pool & bike track or at the Regatta Centre in Penrith which is a lot flatter. I'll let you know how I go.

Somehow I stumbled on the highlights from the 2013 Cairns Ironman posted on YouTube. It makes me nervous just looking at the swim course. It goes out so far! I will be doing that twice... Wow...

Eating

In one of the articles I read recently, I realised I am not eating enough carbohydrates. So I have stepped that side of my nutrition up and now eating almost every hour on days where I have around 3 to 4 hours of training in the day.

Aero Helmet Sorted...

Look at this awesome piece of hardware!

It basically came down to the Kask Bambino and this Garneau Vorttice which I mentioned in the TdH post.

With any luck I might get it before the NSW Club Champs at Forster in early April.

Now I am on the hunt for a wetsuit which will hopefully be suitable for training here in Sydney as the water gets colder and the Ironman in June, up in Cairns... I need to swim with the added resistance on the shoulder movement. 

Bye for now...

The Di2 DIY battery debacle continued the club race

Training stats from 17th Feb to 10th Mar, 10:00am:

• Swimming 4h:55m/13.75km
• Cycling  14h:49m/369.55km
• Running  2h:02m/25.1km
• Gym      3h:00m

Following on from my previous post and the Di2 battery death crisis, at lunch time (on Thursday) I headed toward a shop that I had confirmed that they had an external Di2 Dura Ace battery in stock as the internal type wasn't going to be suitable.

On the way to the train station I decided to check if Clarence Street Cyclery had one. No good. I then stopped by Jet Cycles. Bingo. $99 later and a quick look at the internal battery. Done. No need to go to North Sydney and walk for another 15 minutes then get back in a reasonable amount of time.

A few more bits and pieces from JayCar and back to the office.

- DIY disaster averted

After making a mess on the train home from work while using a multi tool to dig the old batteries from the seatpost and stopping at Bunnings for some epoxy resin, I was ready to start.

While carefully opening the top of the battery container I ripped one of the connection points off the circuit board. IDIOT! There was only about 1mm of remaining copper under the surface of the coated circuit board so I had to scratch the coating off to get some purchase with a dab of solder. If I failed I would have wasted $99!

Thankfully it worked... just... It was hanging on with the slightest bit of solder.
I mixed up the epoxy and poured it into a plastic mold around the top of the circuit to set the wires in place permanently. The first attempt was too runny so it leaked down the sides of the battery, all over the makeshift bench - an old tallboy in the garage and the floor and my feet. IDIOT! I had some left and doing the typical DIY mistake... I added more catalyst. Obviously after a few minutes it all of a sudden went rock hard quicker than I could get to it and pour it in. So I had to mix another batch. Still with too much catalyst but I stood there watching and stirring until I was satisfied it was gluggy enough not to run out he bottom again or go hard before I could pour it in the mold.

Here is the finished product. Once the epoxy was set. A quick check with the multi tester and to my amazement, I actually did it without damaging the circuit board, having the batteries explode during the epoxy curing stage! The dodgy wire also held during the process which I think was more of a fluke than expertise!

Ripping the contact off early on was a massive stuff-up. I am surprised the small amount of solder. There would be no way to charge the batteries if I didn't fix it...

Getting it back in was a challenge. I wanted to wrap it in plastic, insert/drop it inside the frame then follow it in with the seatpost. No good. This is not enough room. After cleaning a lot of the No More Gaps off the sides of the seatpost I was able to slide the batteries back in the original position. It was a tight fit so it shouldn't drop out.

[Saturday]

The club race is on tomorrow (Sunday). Talk about recovery week. I'll have to just write this week off.
The battery problem really stopped my training, as well as the usual Tuesday night strength training - PT session. I am finally able to squat, sit down and up without the DOMS.

Intensity building next ("on") week.

[Sunday - Club Race day Round 6]

500m Swim: I felt really comfortable and strong. I probably held back a little because I fumbled around getting the Garmin into Auto-Multisport mode, doing a few frog style kicks (breaststroke without the arms) until I pressed the correct button to start so I was a little preoccupied.

I wasn't sure if it counted the lap so just in case, I counted as well.

20km Cycle: I didn't feel as strong as last time (Round 4) in the cycle leg but my average speed was up by almost 1km/h - 35.3km/h.
My quadriceps felt tired as if they had no strength to surge up the hill out of the lower corner and I felt like I was tiring too quickly on the hill. To my amazement, one of the laps was a Strava PR. 1m:34s.

4km Run: As usual it took the first 2 kilometres to work through the mild calf cramps and stretch the legs out.

It worked out that I had improved each discipline by 1 minute each since Round 4 in January.
I am happy with that, especially considering I had not trained since Wednesday and have done very little running lately. That will change next week...

Total Time: 1h:02m:43s (unofficial - My Garmin)

Cheers,

:Pat

Di2 battery death... A Rant & Dust off "The Hog"!

What-tha-what!

I am not a happy camper! My Di2 (DYI fitted) internal battery won't charge. I spent the 2 hours I should have been riding last night looking up the manuals to troubleshoot the issue. I finally find one all it said was when the indicator light on the charging unit next to the /!\ [picture of a battery] flashes red, there is a charging error or fault or something like that... No sh*t Sherlock!
Now I am madly trying to find somewhere I can get a new (not DIY) internal battery and charger because that has been modified (they were the external battery type). The added problem I have is the seatpost is a carbon bladed (aero) type... So hopefully the standard Shimano battery pack will fit inside.

[30 minutes later...] (The Rant)

I just got back from visiting the Giant-Shimano store in Sydney. The guy was a moron, shutting me down everytime I opened my mouth to answer his effing question with ..."I know mate. I know - I know" without me getting half the answer out...
He is clearly used to dealing people that are new to cycling and prefers to tell them what they want rather than listening and helping the customer who knows what he wants.
It looks like this guy would work up a sweat climbing the stairs to get out of the store, doesn't look like he even rides and expects to be viewed as an expert on cycling.
That is the second time I have been treated like that at that store... I won't be back!
So... I walked out of there with more great news... Di2 internal battery systems now have a different setup (9000 range) with recharging at one of the junction boxes.
This means I am stuck with the current solution which is to buy a new external battery, pull it apart set the head of the unit where the batteries join side by side via a circuit board and wiring in resin and try to fit it back in the seatpost.

The only helpful tid-bit of information the guy provided was that another bike store, BikeBug in North Sydney had batteries in stock... because, a store claiming to have direct access to Shimano either doesn't have Di2 batteries in stock of any variety with the only option being a 4 week wait. Nice...
No wonder shopping online overseas is such a better option. They are cheaper, faster (around 9 days) and I don't have to deal with d*ckheads!

The Hog

While I work to resolve the Di2 battery issue, I'll have to dust off The Hog. A Diamondback BSX mountain bike with some road tires on it. The Trek Top Fuel is not running at the moment as I haven't got round to shortening the new brake lines.

The Hog is so heavy but it will go anywhere. I might drag that thing up Old Razorback rd a few times...

It isn't too bad on the trainer either.

I think I have a broken spoke nipple on the front so I must fix that before I use it...

The weekend club triathlon is on Sunday... I better get this battery issue sorted!

Cheers,
:Pat

Week 3 (14 weeks to race day) - Tour de Hills and the looming NSW Club Championships

Training stats from 17th Feb to 5th Mar, 7:00am:

• Swimming 4h:16m/11.5km
• Cycling  14h:16m/349.68km
• Running  1h:45m/21.32km
• Gym      3h:00m

Well... I have just sent off a scan of my stamped 7 Peaks passport (see previous blog post). The next challenge is to do the Strava - March Gran Fondo. I missed out on the February one. Not happy about that...

The March challenge is 160km. I am thinking I might do the 180km Ironman distance at the Penrith Regatta Centre in using the course for the Sydney (half) Ironman in November.

I know, I know... It isn't a Gran Fondo without at least 2000 metres of elevation gain...

Maybe I should do either the Ironman 3.8km swim beforehand or the 42.2km run after. It depends on whether the Regatta Centre has any events on the day of my attempt. I really need to start doing the big kays and big days, linking the disciplines together!

It is either that or find some more mountains to make it more challenging than it really needs to be!

I really don't like making things easy for myself...  ;-)

Time and water temperature wise, it would make sense to do the swim and bike legs while the water is still warm which should take 7.5 to 8 hours - 1:30 for the swim and 6hrs for the ride at an average of 28-30km/h.

My Garmin GSC 10 for some reason has stopped transmitting ANT+ back to the unit. The cadence and speed sensors are picking up the magnets as they come past but the GSC 10 isn't pairing to both my Garmin 910XT or Edge 500 units! NOT HAPPY. It makes trainer sessions impossible to do properly.

Tour de Hills (TdH)

Last weekend (2nd of March), I rode in the 90km (actually 87km) Tour de Hills charity ride in north western Sydney. That was a really fun course. I felt strong and was able to stay on the front of a bunch of around 12 riders for around 80km of the total distance. The strong pace of 33.2km/h over the 87km distance dropped all but 2 riders (plus Nicholas, a friend I did the ride with on the day). I actually think we were the first riders to finish after starting 5 minutes behind everyone else.

Thank goodness Nicholas took a turns on the front to give my legs a break. I was really surprised at the sustained power I was producing!

I think the work in the pool, gym and mountains is starting to pay off. My average estimated power output based on what Strava says was 216 watts over the 2 hours and 37 mins for 87.1km at an average speed of 33.2km/h.

Cairns TO DO List (so far):

• Buy/borrow some aero bars
• Organise car hire
• Find out how to get CO2 cannisters for puncture repairs during the race. They will certainly not be allowed to go on the plane, being pressure vessels... Might have to get them posted to where we are staying and ready for when we arrive.
• Buy an aero-helmet! The winning candidates so far are the Kask Bambino:

• and Garneau - AeroTT/Vorttice Black Knight which is more aero:

Training and Racing

I have a club race (500m Swim/20km Cycle/4km Run) this Sunday so the Gran Fondo will have to wait till next weekend.

I have been feeling pretty good in the water lately so I am looking forward to the NSW Club Championships on the first weekend of April.

It will be my first open water swim as part of a race for some years so it will be good to get out of the pool!

The open water doesn't bother me (being a diver). The added wind chop, swell, currents and need for course correction is the thing that makes the open water races fun but so tiring!

My training this week started a bit slow due to Sunday's ride at TdH.

I had Monday off, Tuesday morning off and was faced with an evening smash-fest by Rena my personal trainer from My Way Personal Training:

Set Group 1:

5 Sets of 10:

• None weighted bar bell:
• Front squats
• Back squats
• Lunges using dumbbells
• One legged squats

Set Group 2:

As many rounds as possible in 7 minutes:

• 15 x Tire/box jumps
• 12 x push ups
• 10 x 6kg medicine ball high throws against a wall and catch into a squat

I got 5 rounds done, plus the jumps, push ups and 4 of the 10 ball throws...

To top it all off, I finished with 2 x 2 minute planks. One leaning against a weight bench then the second, horizontal on the floor.
Looks like my core is finally getting stronger. One day I might be able to keep up with my wife when we are doing sit ups!

After all those squats my knees were a little tender so I decided not to do the 1 hour run I was meant to do. Instead, I devoured several homemade burritos and tacos... :-)

Due to catching up on training planning, paying bills, entering events, making lunches and ironing for Wednesday, bedtime was pretty late so my plans to wake at 4:30am and run at 5 before swimming at 5:30 did not happen. I did swim at 5:30 though... My knees were still a little tender anyway.

The Rest of the Week

If I stick to the plan which I am still trying to modify to accommodate for Friday and Saturday, this is what it should sort of look like:

• Wednesday:
• Morning Swim up to 2km (easy with an increase on pace in the final 1km)
• Night: 2 x SufferFest videos (2 hours) - The Hunted (Climbing) & Downward Spiral (Speed)
• Thursday:
• Morning: Swim 2.5km
• Night: 2 x SufferFest videos (2 hours) - Maybe: The Hunted (Climbing) & Downward Spiral (Speed)
• Friday:
• Morning: Run 45min (easy-medium) and Swim 2.5km
• Night: Rest
• Saturday:
• Morning: Light jog with the kids on their bikes. 
• Night: Rest, stretch, eat and hydrate for Sunday's club race.
• Sunday:
• Morning: Macarthur Triathlon - Club race (500m Swim/20km Cycle/4km Run)
• Afternoon: 22km Run

Bye for now...

:Pat

The 48hr Victorian Raid - The final 3 of 7 peaks

Training stats from 17th Feb to 27th Feb, 11:30am:

• Swimming 3h:40m/5.8km
• Cycling  7h:29m/141km
• Running  1h:45m/21.3km
• Gym      2h:00m

In amongst all this Ironman training and I was able and lucky enough to fit in a road trip with my friend Phil to the Victorian high country to complete the final three peaks of the 7 Peaks Alpine Ascent Challenge.

#7PeaksChallenge is a Victorian Tourism scheme that runs from mid October to the end of March each year, aimed at getting more people out to the ski fields and surrounding areas during the summer months with cycling being the focus. This great initiative entails exploring and riding some of the most spectacular regions in the country. I highly recommend a couple of trips down/up there to take on the challenge yourself.

What an adventure!

In November last year we took our significant others and kids down to Bright to start the 2013-14 challenge:
Day 1: Mt. Beauty to Falls Creek
Day 2: Harrietville to Mt. Hotham
Day 3: (morning) Mt. Buffalo
Day 3: (afternoon) Omeo to Dinner Plain
All up it was around 6180 metres of elevation gain over 205km in an amazing 3 days.

With March and Autumn quickly closing in we had to make an effort get down there and finish of the final three - Mt. Baw Baw, Lake Mountain and Mt. Buller and qualify for a chance in the major prize draw and well earned 7 Peaks Jersey.

Mt. Baw Baw - Friday 21st of February 2014

We chose to start the "final 3" with an 11 hour trip from Sydney to Mt. Baw Baw, leaving at 4am on Friday, hoping to get there and do the climb (or even some repeats) in the afternoon.
Everything was working to plan until for some reason we refuelled at Mansfield. We didn't realise at the time the NavMan was literally taking the most direct route which meant our journey to Mt. Baw Baw included spending over 3 hours of dirt roads up to what my GPS was saying over 2000 metres above sea level.

This is the route we used to get from Mansfield to Mt. Baw Baw.

Following the Goulburn River near Woods Point.

More dirt roads and beautiful forests...

So finally, around 3pm arrive at the start of the climb - "The Gantry" near Tanjil Bren.

"The Gantry" at the start of the Mt. Baw Baw climb

At Woods Point it was overcast and around 17 degrees which isn't too bad. By the time we got to Nine Mile road at Matlock the temperature had dropped to 9 degrees and the rain was getting heavier.
I put it down to the elevation which was by that stage, at 1800 metres above sea level, coming down from 2000m!

On arrival at The Gantry it was bucketing down and 9 degrees. A perfect temperature for climbing but the rain was psyching me out knowing the monster that is Mt. Baw Baw at 11.5% from The Gantry with grades up to 20% over 6.7km was going to be difficult enough in the dry using 39/27. Being a mountain biker, even though it is nasty, 20% isn't all that big a deal however on a road bike and in the wet, I was wondering how I could keep the rear wheel from spinning on the oil spots, gum leaves and tree bark on the edge of the road.

To make things more interesting, while driving in from Tanjil Bren we noticed there were road rally cars driving and on trailers heading the same direction.

It turned out that the weekend of February Sat 22nd & Sun 23rd the road would be closed for The Mt. Baw Baw Tarmac Rally Sprint Race...

Australian Tarmac Rally - Mt. Baw Baw Sprint

Source: www.australiantarmacrally.com

It was a good thing we chose to climb Mt. Baw Baw on the Friday, especially after what it took to get there! The only problem then was to safely ascend and descend in atrocious conditions with rally cars practising their driving skills on the mountain at the same time... Great... Zig-zagging was not going to be an option for "Winch Corner". The steepest section of the climb and a blind corner if you are going up.

With the threat of being hit by rally cars on the corners and wanting to limit our exposure to the weather we decided to start from The Gantry. It would have been a nastier climb had we started from Tanjil Bren or even Vesper which apparently is a gruelling hill climb in it's own right. Maybe next time... On the Saturday we were chatting to a fellow after climbing Lake Mountain who rides from Warragul (approx. 85km).

It took me around 45:09 to do the 7 Peaks Mt. Baw Baw Strava segment.

We had arrived just before the information centre closed to get our 7 Peaks passports stamped before a making the very scary descent back to the car. We were happy to find out that we were not the only crazy people riding the mountain that day. There were two others.

By this stage, at the top of the mountain, border lining on hypothermia our muscles were in a state of involuntary spasm. So much so that Phil found it hard to control the bike. In these conditions, when all you are interested in is staying upright, control of the bike is a pretty important part...
Slowing down was almost impossible on this ride. Even in the close to zero temperatures the heat generated by breaking still required letting go to cool the rims. This was a scary situation when the bike picked up speed very quickly due to the gradient.
Phil got a front flat halfway down. His new tire when back in the rim surprisingly quickly which was good because it was so cold I could not talk properly and had lost feeling in all my fingers and toes.
I was less than a metre away from being hit by an Audi rally car coming up the other way. I had nowhere to go when he appeared in a drift around a corner.

Due to the freezing weather, gradient (coming down), near miss with the car and risk of crashing in the wet, this had to be the scariest ride I can remember. I would like to do it again but with a few more kays in the legs to warm up for the climb and less racing cars on the road...
The thing stopping me, living in Sydney is just what it takes to get there.

If you would like to have a go at riding this mountain, check out this article by The Climbing Cyclist or visit the 7 Peaks Alpine Ascent Challenge.

Strava Activity: 7 Peaks Challenge 2013-14: Mt. Baw Baw - Mountain Rally

Lake Mountain - Saturday morning 22nd of February 2014

Lake Mountain Park Entry

Granite Grind MTB Race Event Centre

Customary photo at the entrance of the alpine village

What a nice ride with great weather in comparison to Mt. Baw Baw the day before!
Simon Gerrans wasn't wrong when he said this climb is one of the more challenging of all the climbs due to the constant grade.
There were plenty of opportunities appreciate the distant scenery and forest areas about three quarters of the way up, as well as a chance to take in ..."my new favourite smell - Cedar"...
At the alpine village there was a day of mountain bike racing. I am definitely coming back but not for the coffee if the same guy is in there pretending to be a barista!

The speeds coming down the mountain were high... According to Strava, I got just over 91kph. Phil hit 106kph... Fun!!!

Strava Activity: 7 Peaks Challenge 2013-14: Lake Mountain radness - Sniff'n Cedar (Ceedrr)

Mt. Buller - Saturday afternoon 22nd of February 2014

One of the reasons why wanted to finish the 7 Peaks Challenge at Mt. Buller was because Hells500, The Climbing Cyclist and Mt. Buller Alpine Resort organised a "domestique" - closed road event for anyone wanting to climb the mountain between 2pm and 5pm on the Saturday.
Kudos to the organisers! I had a great time chatting to other riders, taking selfies under safe riding conditions.
A great atmosphere. Phil and I literally rode our bikes to the very top of Mt. Buller!

How appropriate...

The very top...

So back to IM training...

I think it was a great idea kicking off the 16 week plan with some altitude training!
I now have a hill climbing addiction... I think I have always had one. I think now I have accepted it. ;-)

This Sunday I will be doing the Tour de Hills - 90km participation ride in north West Sydney with a neighbour - Nico. More hills... Just not so long, high or scenic. I might even push the ride out to make it the Strava - March Gran Fondo. It works out well because I have 6-8 hours of riding ahead of me this weekend.
Thursday night, if the rain stays away or light, I have to do 3 hours. The only way I will be able to do this is by riding the M7 motorway - bike path. I think I will be riding the M7 quite a bit of a night time as the daylight hours reduce.

Oh... I have added some high level statistics on my training as a gadget to the top of this blog and post.

Cheers,
:Pat

Day 1 at week 16

Yesterday was my first day of the 16 week training plan I am using to get to Cairns in June.
2km medium pace swim in the morning then a 4km easy run and a SufferFest video in the evening.
This wasn't to bad. It was certainly not as hard going as the lead up to the 16 week mark.

I felt heavy in the pool and easily distracted. It was reflected in my pace in the laps however the pace overall wasn't too bad given the new stroke style I am working on at the moment.
I found it wasn't taking long to deplete the oxygen in my body tissue which made me sink.
It might be the percentage of fat to muscle I have since the increase of my recent training volume or it just might have been just one of those days.
I thought I'd only done 1500 metres but was happily surprised to hear the Garmin chime when I hit the final lap approaching 2km.
2km in 39 minutes on the dot. Just enough time to get changed and head to work on time.

The training plan actually said I needed to do 4km but when the pool opens at 5:30 and I need to get to the train station for the 6:30 train, it makes it hard do 80 minutes of training.
Some of the planned sessions will have to change but one thing is clear. The weekends will need to be used as the big training day catch up sessions, linking all the disciplines.

I have incorporated private training gym sessions into the training plan for 6pm, every Tuesday. After that smashfest this afternoon I will have to run for an hour doing hills.

Now... Time to use the train to catch up on some sleep. Great for the neck! Hopefully I don't sleep through my stop like yesterday. It is going to be a busy day!

Bye for now...

Welcome!

Hi and welcome to my blog...

I have decided to create this blog to (initially) share the journey toward my very first full Ironman triathlon in Cairns on the 8th of June 2014.

Hope you find it interesting.

Cheers,
Pat