Training Log Archive: NSW StingerIn the 7 days ending Mar 23, 2014:
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Sunday Mar 23, 2014 #
Swimming race 58:08 [5] 3.8 km (15:18 / km)
slept:3.0
Ironman Asia-Pacific Championships Melbourne
As a kid I had plenty of triathlon idols- Greg Welch, Brad Bevan and Chris McCormack to name a few. I always thought I would race an Ironman race some day, "when I learn to swim" was a common excuse. But it did take a lot longer than it should have to commit. But then again if the thought of a 3.8km swim, 180km ride and 42.2km run doesn't scare you, the entry fee will.
Having watched the local athletes from Latrobe Valley Triathlon Club get great motivation by having a local Ironman race since 2012 sparked my interest and I committed by entering with over 2000 others 51 weeks before the race. But most who know me realise that my training and racing philosophy is the antithesis of most Ironman triathletes. Rather than racing twice a year I prefer to race twice a week. And I don't do a great volume of training even if I do quite like races. But I hoped the new event might motivate me to commit and train with a bit more focus.
However when my brother convinced me to race the Cradle Mountain 80km Ultra run in early Feb I knew my focus would be split again. And a late organised trip to Vietnam for 10 days involved a many more hours of eating than training.
Anyway by the night before the race I ready to go, if only I could get to sleep. It was good to feel nervous about a race but I would have liked more than about 3hrs sleep. Thanks to Dave who dropped me at the start in the morning (and is thinking of racing next year....? ). I packed the bike with food, pulled the wetsuit on and made my way to the beach with everyone else. A quick warm up swim and then I lined up with 2000 age-groupers after the Pro classes had started. The swim was in Port Phillip around Frankston pier. From everything I'd been told the starts of an ironman race are always frantic and you are more likely to drown in a sea of swimmers than the water. I actually didn't find it as bad ask expected, even around the turn buoys. I tried to keep clear and 'swim my own race'. I felt a bit tired after the first 1500m and started thinking this swim leg would take a lot more energy out of me than I expected. However I kept going ok and started finding a few good feet to follow particularly in the last km.
I jogged out of the water with the aim of seeing a time of less than 70mins on the clock. When it said 76 I was a bit disappointed but understood I had only swam about 10 times this year so that's what I deserved. Transition was ok and nice to get some help packing the bag from a volunteer.
As a kid I had plenty of triathlon idols- Greg Welch, Brad Bevan and Chris McCormack to name a few. I always thought I would race an Ironman race some day, "when I learn to swim" was a common excuse. But it did take a lot longer than it should have to commit. But then again if the thought of a 3.8km swim, 180km ride and 42.2km run doesn't scare you, the entry fee will.
Having watched the local athletes from Latrobe Valley Triathlon Club get great motivation by having a local Ironman race since 2012 sparked my interest and I committed by entering with over 2000 others 51 weeks before the race. But most who know me realise that my training and racing philosophy is the antithesis of most Ironman triathletes. Rather than racing twice a year I prefer to race twice a week. And I don't do a great volume of training even if I do quite like races. But I hoped the new event might motivate me to commit and train with a bit more focus.
However when my brother convinced me to race the Cradle Mountain 80km Ultra run in early Feb I knew my focus would be split again. And a late organised trip to Vietnam for 10 days involved a many more hours of eating than training.
Anyway by the night before the race I ready to go, if only I could get to sleep. It was good to feel nervous about a race but I would have liked more than about 3hrs sleep. Thanks to Dave who dropped me at the start in the morning (and is thinking of racing next year....? ). I packed the bike with food, pulled the wetsuit on and made my way to the beach with everyone else. A quick warm up swim and then I lined up with 2000 age-groupers after the Pro classes had started. The swim was in Port Phillip around Frankston pier. From everything I'd been told the starts of an ironman race are always frantic and you are more likely to drown in a sea of swimmers than the water. I actually didn't find it as bad ask expected, even around the turn buoys. I tried to keep clear and 'swim my own race'. I felt a bit tired after the first 1500m and started thinking this swim leg would take a lot more energy out of me than I expected. However I kept going ok and started finding a few good feet to follow particularly in the last km.
I jogged out of the water with the aim of seeing a time of less than 70mins on the clock. When it said 76 I was a bit disappointed but understood I had only swam about 10 times this year so that's what I deserved. Transition was ok and nice to get some help packing the bag from a volunteer.
8 AM
Triathlon race 8:39:14 219.97 km (2:22 / km) +897m 2:19 / km
ahr:154 max:180
Ironman Asia-Pacific Championships Melbourne
Out onto the bike course for the first 90km round trip to Ringwood on Eastlink tollway. The outward section has a small height gain but a stiff tail wind making it quick going. My HR was highest for the first few minutes while I tried to control my adrenaline. About 20km I felt my steering was a bit strange as I stood up climbing a small rise. Surely not a flat front tyre?! In training for the past few weeks I'd been plagued by punctures, even after replacing tubes and tyres they kept coming. But I had borrowed faster wheels for the race so hoped that problem was behind me. Nope, flat rear tyre this time. Ok I will try my 'pitstop' latex and CO2 canister first. However I had never used it before, and it didn't seal on the valve extender I had for the deep rim wheel. After mucking around I decided to try the regular CO2 canister, but again it didn't seal on the valve extender. The negative thoughts we're setting in as I removed many metres of tape that held my spare tubular tyre onto my seat post. It wasn't as bad as I expected changing the tyres, and I had one last CO2 to try and salvage the day. This time it sealed (different stem) and 16mins after stopping I was ready to go.
Just down the road was the first aid station, I stopped to ask a mechanic if he had spare CO2, he didn't. However he said some of the official motorbikes had pumps, and he had spare wheels so I figured it I had more trouble at least I should be able to get some help.
I was then passing many people for the next 40km or so. On the return trip into the wind I took a moment to rest at the back of a few riders to have a Shotz energy bar. We were moving at 32-33kph which I thought was ok, until we were caught by a pack of about 50 riders moving at 37kph!! Now most people would know that the bike legs is NOT draft legal, however it is so blatant in the race that the officials would struggle to know who NOT to penalize. However they concentrate on the leaders and that's fair enough as it becomes impossible not to draft when you have big groups trying to pass one another.
Coming into the halfway point at Frankston I decided to get a gap on the bunch over the small hills and hopefully have a bit more clear space. This was a good move and I pushed harder on the 2nd downwind section and by the time I reached Ringwood turnaround I was still passing plenty especially through the tunnels (big descent and ascent). Based on my average speed I thought I could still ride 5hrs30mins and still have a chance or breaking 10hrs if I had a really good run. The headwind section at the end was very tough and I had no one to ride with the whole way. At one point there was no one in front or behind for 500m. Sometimes if felt like the riders in front must be pulling away as I tired, but then when I caught them they were so much slower it wasn't worth even jumping on their wheel for a short rest. I backed it off a bit over the last 10km to make sure I wasn't totally blown for the run but I was pretty happy to have a 5hrs20min bike split. Sub 5hrs was definitely on the cards without the puncture. It's amazing how fast that road is on a good bike in the right conditions.
Now just to run a marathon. The first 2km is an out and back on a wooden board walk near the ocean. I liked this part and it showed in my pace, just on 4mins/km and it felt easy. The crowds through Frankston shopping arcade were great and when I realised my pace I thought I better back it off a touch. I was running beside a guy called Michael from Ballarat. Since we were of similar speed I asked if he thought we could beat 10hrs. He replied we only had to run 5mins/km and if we kept this up we should have a good buffer for a last 10km blow up. I did the sums and questioned him again as I thought we needed a 3.18 marathon. The best news of the day came when he replied the time on the last race clock was for the Pro start and that we had an extra 18mins! I didn't wear my watch for the swim was wasn't sure of my total race time.
So I continued down the Nepean Hwy at about 4.30min/km pace, faster than I wanted but it was easier to stick on Michael's heals than pace myself. There is an an abundance of aid stations on the run, in fact every 2km. I was hoping not to stop until I got really tired so pushed through with a quick mouth full of water, coke or Gatorade and also a bit of real food like banana or watermelon to supplement my Shotz gels. It was nice to see Kim, Dave and Jakob at Carrum and Murray and Janette at Mordialloc. I grabbed a Shotz electrolyte drink from the special needs bag and slowed a bit over the next 4km to drink it. This section on along the coast is quite scenic but much tougher than the first 18km. I reached the steep pinch off the beach that I'd been warned about and pictured Bevo and Crozier walking in front as I tried to keep running but not cramp.
I saw Kathryn for the first time about 25km which was good motivation. She then leap frogged me in the car quite a few times over the last 15km. She told me that Elizabeth (new Adventure Racing team mate) was a couple of mins in front which surprised me as I'd forgotten about her. She was having a great race and took me quite a while to finally catch her. I started to pick up the pace over last 12km as I got more confident of making the finish. The last few km had some great parties and plenty of supporters that was a great distraction from the pain. Finally was into the last few km along St Kilda foreshore and the runners were more spaced out now. The finish chute came and went before I knew it and I can't remember hearing Mike saying "you are an IRONMAN!" but I was told it came across on the live streaming.
9hrs41mins30secs was my official time which I was stoked with as my aim was just to break 10hrs. My marathon time was 3hrs16mins which I'm pretty happy with, especially as it was only the 2nd on-road marathon I've run.
When I sat down after the finish line I then realised I was still wearing my bike knicks. I'd run a marathon and hadn't noticed the whole time til I stopped! I was still wearing multisport knicks underneath so it's not quite as bad as it sounds. Definitely a few things I could improve on for next time. Also talking to Elizabeth and Bevo I then realised my swim time was not as bad as I thought, since the clock I looked at had the Pro start time so I had really swam 58mins. Wow I was shocked, but it gives me motivation for future races and for any runners wondering how hard the swim is, just get a good wetsuit and don't worry about it.
So while it took me a long time to do an ironman triathlon I did really 'enjoy' the experience and plan to do a few more. The Melbourne event was very well run and it was fantastic having plenty of locals supporting along the course. And while I have been coping plenty of flack from my Adventure Race buddies it was surprising that I found the race so interesting, since adventure racers are mostly triathletes bored of doing ironman. And barring future family commitments (surely how hard can being a parent be?) I'll be back the start line in 2015. And still with hairy legs :-)
Split Name Distance Split Time
Race Time
Pace Div. Rank Overall Rank Gender Rank
Total 3.9 km 58:08 58:08 1:29/100m 44 218 198
Bike Details Division Rank: 103
Split Name Distance
45 km 45 km 1:26:40 2:28:52 31.15 km/h
90 km 45 km 1:18:31 3:47:23 34.39 km/h
135 km 45 km 1:11:09 4:58:32 37.95 km/h
180 km 45 km 1:23:38 6:22:10 32.28 km/h
Total 180 km
Split Time 5:19:58
Race Time 6:22:10
Pace 33.75 km/h
Div. Rank 103
Overall Rank 455
Gender Rank 429
Run Details
Division Rank: 47
Split Name Distance
9 km 9 km 39:35 7:04:30 4:23/km
18.5 km 9.5 km 43:39 7:48:09 4:35/km
33.8 km 15.3 km 1:15:29 9:03:38 4:56/km
42.2 km 8.4 km 37:52 9:41:30 4:30/km
Total 42.2 km
Split Time 3:16:35
Race Time 9:41:30
Pace 4:39/km
Div. Rank 47
Overall Rank 198
Gender Rank 185
Transition
T1: SWIM-TO-BIKE 4:04
T2: BIKE-TO-RUN 2:45
Out onto the bike course for the first 90km round trip to Ringwood on Eastlink tollway. The outward section has a small height gain but a stiff tail wind making it quick going. My HR was highest for the first few minutes while I tried to control my adrenaline. About 20km I felt my steering was a bit strange as I stood up climbing a small rise. Surely not a flat front tyre?! In training for the past few weeks I'd been plagued by punctures, even after replacing tubes and tyres they kept coming. But I had borrowed faster wheels for the race so hoped that problem was behind me. Nope, flat rear tyre this time. Ok I will try my 'pitstop' latex and CO2 canister first. However I had never used it before, and it didn't seal on the valve extender I had for the deep rim wheel. After mucking around I decided to try the regular CO2 canister, but again it didn't seal on the valve extender. The negative thoughts we're setting in as I removed many metres of tape that held my spare tubular tyre onto my seat post. It wasn't as bad as I expected changing the tyres, and I had one last CO2 to try and salvage the day. This time it sealed (different stem) and 16mins after stopping I was ready to go.
Just down the road was the first aid station, I stopped to ask a mechanic if he had spare CO2, he didn't. However he said some of the official motorbikes had pumps, and he had spare wheels so I figured it I had more trouble at least I should be able to get some help.
I was then passing many people for the next 40km or so. On the return trip into the wind I took a moment to rest at the back of a few riders to have a Shotz energy bar. We were moving at 32-33kph which I thought was ok, until we were caught by a pack of about 50 riders moving at 37kph!! Now most people would know that the bike legs is NOT draft legal, however it is so blatant in the race that the officials would struggle to know who NOT to penalize. However they concentrate on the leaders and that's fair enough as it becomes impossible not to draft when you have big groups trying to pass one another.
Coming into the halfway point at Frankston I decided to get a gap on the bunch over the small hills and hopefully have a bit more clear space. This was a good move and I pushed harder on the 2nd downwind section and by the time I reached Ringwood turnaround I was still passing plenty especially through the tunnels (big descent and ascent). Based on my average speed I thought I could still ride 5hrs30mins and still have a chance or breaking 10hrs if I had a really good run. The headwind section at the end was very tough and I had no one to ride with the whole way. At one point there was no one in front or behind for 500m. Sometimes if felt like the riders in front must be pulling away as I tired, but then when I caught them they were so much slower it wasn't worth even jumping on their wheel for a short rest. I backed it off a bit over the last 10km to make sure I wasn't totally blown for the run but I was pretty happy to have a 5hrs20min bike split. Sub 5hrs was definitely on the cards without the puncture. It's amazing how fast that road is on a good bike in the right conditions.
Now just to run a marathon. The first 2km is an out and back on a wooden board walk near the ocean. I liked this part and it showed in my pace, just on 4mins/km and it felt easy. The crowds through Frankston shopping arcade were great and when I realised my pace I thought I better back it off a touch. I was running beside a guy called Michael from Ballarat. Since we were of similar speed I asked if he thought we could beat 10hrs. He replied we only had to run 5mins/km and if we kept this up we should have a good buffer for a last 10km blow up. I did the sums and questioned him again as I thought we needed a 3.18 marathon. The best news of the day came when he replied the time on the last race clock was for the Pro start and that we had an extra 18mins! I didn't wear my watch for the swim was wasn't sure of my total race time.
So I continued down the Nepean Hwy at about 4.30min/km pace, faster than I wanted but it was easier to stick on Michael's heals than pace myself. There is an an abundance of aid stations on the run, in fact every 2km. I was hoping not to stop until I got really tired so pushed through with a quick mouth full of water, coke or Gatorade and also a bit of real food like banana or watermelon to supplement my Shotz gels. It was nice to see Kim, Dave and Jakob at Carrum and Murray and Janette at Mordialloc. I grabbed a Shotz electrolyte drink from the special needs bag and slowed a bit over the next 4km to drink it. This section on along the coast is quite scenic but much tougher than the first 18km. I reached the steep pinch off the beach that I'd been warned about and pictured Bevo and Crozier walking in front as I tried to keep running but not cramp.
I saw Kathryn for the first time about 25km which was good motivation. She then leap frogged me in the car quite a few times over the last 15km. She told me that Elizabeth (new Adventure Racing team mate) was a couple of mins in front which surprised me as I'd forgotten about her. She was having a great race and took me quite a while to finally catch her. I started to pick up the pace over last 12km as I got more confident of making the finish. The last few km had some great parties and plenty of supporters that was a great distraction from the pain. Finally was into the last few km along St Kilda foreshore and the runners were more spaced out now. The finish chute came and went before I knew it and I can't remember hearing Mike saying "you are an IRONMAN!" but I was told it came across on the live streaming.
9hrs41mins30secs was my official time which I was stoked with as my aim was just to break 10hrs. My marathon time was 3hrs16mins which I'm pretty happy with, especially as it was only the 2nd on-road marathon I've run.
When I sat down after the finish line I then realised I was still wearing my bike knicks. I'd run a marathon and hadn't noticed the whole time til I stopped! I was still wearing multisport knicks underneath so it's not quite as bad as it sounds. Definitely a few things I could improve on for next time. Also talking to Elizabeth and Bevo I then realised my swim time was not as bad as I thought, since the clock I looked at had the Pro start time so I had really swam 58mins. Wow I was shocked, but it gives me motivation for future races and for any runners wondering how hard the swim is, just get a good wetsuit and don't worry about it.
So while it took me a long time to do an ironman triathlon I did really 'enjoy' the experience and plan to do a few more. The Melbourne event was very well run and it was fantastic having plenty of locals supporting along the course. And while I have been coping plenty of flack from my Adventure Race buddies it was surprising that I found the race so interesting, since adventure racers are mostly triathletes bored of doing ironman. And barring future family commitments (surely how hard can being a parent be?) I'll be back the start line in 2015. And still with hairy legs :-)
Split Name Distance Split Time
Race Time
Pace Div. Rank Overall Rank Gender Rank
Total 3.9 km 58:08 58:08 1:29/100m 44 218 198
Bike Details Division Rank: 103
Split Name Distance
45 km 45 km 1:26:40 2:28:52 31.15 km/h
90 km 45 km 1:18:31 3:47:23 34.39 km/h
135 km 45 km 1:11:09 4:58:32 37.95 km/h
180 km 45 km 1:23:38 6:22:10 32.28 km/h
Total 180 km
Split Time 5:19:58
Race Time 6:22:10
Pace 33.75 km/h
Div. Rank 103
Overall Rank 455
Gender Rank 429
Run Details
Division Rank: 47
Split Name Distance
9 km 9 km 39:35 7:04:30 4:23/km
18.5 km 9.5 km 43:39 7:48:09 4:35/km
33.8 km 15.3 km 1:15:29 9:03:38 4:56/km
42.2 km 8.4 km 37:52 9:41:30 4:30/km
Total 42.2 km
Split Time 3:16:35
Race Time 9:41:30
Pace 4:39/km
Div. Rank 47
Overall Rank 198
Gender Rank 185
Transition
T1: SWIM-TO-BIKE 4:04
T2: BIKE-TO-RUN 2:45
Friday Mar 21, 2014 #
6 PM
Running (St Kilda) 25:46 [0] 5.52 km (4:40 / km) +41m 4:30 / km
slept:6.0 shoes: Nike Lunar Racer 3
Not much downtime at work last night, and had to drive to melbourne to register for Ironman by 6pm so pretty busy day. Had a massage with Nenet too. After registering I skipped the briefing and went for a run out and back on the last few Km of the run course. Bloody windy but the legs seemed good and was running along nicely with no effort. Good confidence builder.
Thursday Mar 20, 2014 #
9 AM
Road Cycling 26:00 13.5 km (1:56 / km) +32m 1:54 / km
ahr:138 max:157
Strength work 1:27:29
ahr:66 max:109
yoga. wore the HR watch out of curiosity
12 PM
Road Cycling 28:42 13.17 km (2:11 / km) +91m 2:06 / km
ahr:139 max:166
Tuesday Mar 18, 2014 #
7 PM
Running 28:12 5.0 km (5:38 / km) +32m 5:28 / km
ahr:142 max:187
Monday Mar 17, 2014 #
9 AM
Swimming (Cowarr Weir) 59:14 [2] 2.87 km (20:40 / km)
morning swim at Cowarr Weir