Saturday, August 3, 2013
Ok, time to switch on and focus. 10 weeks to race day. I have had a handful of big days during the past few weeks in Europe, but the reality is that training has, at best, been modest, restricted by other priorities. I have been taking it easy for a few weeks, in perfect weather, on holiday. The only times I have had to get up early, was to do the two Ironman events. Races which were completed below threshold without any particular difficulties, other than dodgy French portaloos in Nice, and uncharacteristically hot and humid weather in Zurich.
Meanwhile, back in Perth, many North Coasters and cycling mates have been getting up very early, in the cold, dark and wet, then enduring many hours of discomfort, doing many more hours per week, at a much higher intensity, meanwhile, doing a full week of work.
Though I should have a decent foundation upon which to build some quality training, my capability to maintain a decent threshold of effort was nowhere near where it should be. To address this would need a smarter approach than just doing lots of hours and kilometres, which aren't really an option anyway.
Fortunately, a few of my good friends are excellent cyclists who have a completely different perspective to many fellow Ironman competitors. A classic example of difference between the cyclists I know and the triathletes is this concept of Ironman Fatigue. The conventional wisdom seems to be that when you are fatigued, it is all a necessary part of the training, just train more, no excuses.
Having now done 11, and managed to go sub 6 on the bike, and run a 4 hour marathon +/- 15 mins in pretty much all of them, despite my advancing years, waist dimensions and damaged joints, I hope I am not breaking some kind of "Magic Circle Code". But, can I please inform you that unless you are wanting to be pushing nine hours or so, having to put up with this so-called "Ironman Fatigue", and spending weeks, or in many cases, months, like some kind of zombie, is a complete load of bollocks! A few lie-ins in now and again could actually make you quicker. And, more importantly, healthier.
The cyclists I know, including current record holders, world, Olympic, national and state champions, find this quite bizarre. On the contrary, when they are fatigued, they stop, rest, modify their programme, come back stronger and able to train effectively. The principle they follow is that if you are not properly recovered, sessions cannot hit the thresholds you need to make you better - the whole point of training. Their concern is what they call "digging a hole" where you get into this fatigued spiral of losing form, so feel compelled that you have to train harder, longer, which, typically leads to the inevitable consequence of making things worse.
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| With Nera Jareb, Russell Brooks and Natalie Laurdendau. Nera recently cruised to a 2'56" in the Perth City to Surf Marathon as part of her Kona training |
For swimming I am blessed with advice from Paul Newsome and Aaron Robertson. I just wish I could do their efforts justice.
Grumpy old man
For the first week back from Europe the weather was shit. Writing this paragraph now, retrospectively, what I wasn't to know then was that it was going to get progressively worse for the entire 10 weeks. I missed most of my planned rides. I had been away for seven weeks and had lots of catching up to do at work. There was also an appointment with the accountant which needed lots of preparation which obviously had to take precedence.
If acclimatising to an untypical harsh winter was not bad enough, the drive home from the airport reminded me of another shock to the system I would have to deal with.
Over the past few years we have been exceptionally fortunate in having several visits to Italy, close to the Swiss border, and consequently driven extensively in both countries. No matter how nice it is there, it is always good to come home to Perth, which, in almost every respect, is another stroke of exceptional fortune.
But, Perth does have one massive, quite bizarre negative, which is difficult to understand, or explain. Having just experienced courtesy and etiquette as the norm, in Western Europe, the drive home from Perth airport inevitably rams home the stark contrast in driving standards and attitude. It never takes long to be reminded that WA is also home to what has to be the developed world's most arrogant, ignorant, inept, rude, aggressive, dangerous and unbelievably selfish driving culture.
Even in Italy, with what initially appears to be aggressive, fast, chaotic driving, on poorly designed roads and junctions, there is a distinct etiquette. Yes, they drive fast, but, equally, it is in the driving sub-conscience to concede, to let someone out, or in, without even thinking about it, just by modifying speed slightly, and giving a subtle signal, followed by an acknowledgement. Meanwhile the traffic keeps flowing, and everyone gets to their destination quicker. If this concession were not part of the culture, on the narrow, busy roads, there would be gridlock. Even simple merging is beyond many in WA, and a frequent cause of conflict.
Italians always seem to be in a hurry, and on many roads completely disregard speed limits, yet, on a narrow road they generally will wait for a safe place to pass cyclists. How hard can it be? How much time is actually lost? A mere fraction of the time we have to wait in Perth at poorly co-ordinated, mis-managed junctions.
Someone was recently making a similar point on Perth radio. Inevitably, there was the ignorant, overly-defensive response, using examples of accidents and bad drivers in Western Europe to somehow justify that drivers everywhere else are just as bad as here. This is depressing and demoralising. How will things ever improve when there seems to be such a lack of awareness that some of the things you see as a matter of routine here, obviously and inevitably happen elsewhere, but are the exception, rather than the rule, in most of the developed world?
In approximately 5000 kms of driving and cycling in Europe I can't remember one incident, seeing any aggressive or abusive behaviour. Yet, on my first days back here there were several incidents every single time I went out on the road.
After a spate of serious accidents the so-called experts and media blame either the speed limits, which compared to most places are quite low, or, amazingly, yet quite routinely, they blame the roads. Have they never been anywhere else? Did they have their eyes shut? Have they no road sense whatsoever? The traffic management here might be useless, but the quality of roads around Perth compare favourably to anywhere in the world, including Switzerland.
Riding partners and guidance needed
Anyway, despite the fact that I sometimes do have genuine fear of what any given ride might have in store, I had to get my head in gear. I needed to make arrangements with someone good, on the right wavelength, to get me motivated. I was certainly not ready for riding with Matt Dec for a couple of weeks, so I contacted Natalie Laurendau, Kona bound again, who is a quality triathlete, a particularly strong cyclist, and does a lot of the faster group rides around Perth.
Unfortunately for me, on my return to Perth, Nat was in Canada, visiting her family in Quebec, and competing in a 70.3. However, husband Russell, and A-grade cyclist, was still at home, so Nat got me to contact Russell and we arranged to meet at his house. The deal was that if the weather was too wild for a Pappas, River or Yanchep ride we would do the "Hour of Power" on the ergo, as Nat's machine was free. It is actually less than an hour, includes warm ups, and with the intervals you are only riding hard for 24 minutes. To give Russell some context, even in the crap weather this winter, and having a couple of weeks off with illness, he always rides well over the 40kph average in the ATTA time trials. He has done an impressive 4'25" on the bike leg of the Busselton Ironman too.
Riding partners and guidance needed
Anyway, despite the fact that I sometimes do have genuine fear of what any given ride might have in store, I had to get my head in gear. I needed to make arrangements with someone good, on the right wavelength, to get me motivated. I was certainly not ready for riding with Matt Dec for a couple of weeks, so I contacted Natalie Laurendau, Kona bound again, who is a quality triathlete, a particularly strong cyclist, and does a lot of the faster group rides around Perth.
Unfortunately for me, on my return to Perth, Nat was in Canada, visiting her family in Quebec, and competing in a 70.3. However, husband Russell, and A-grade cyclist, was still at home, so Nat got me to contact Russell and we arranged to meet at his house. The deal was that if the weather was too wild for a Pappas, River or Yanchep ride we would do the "Hour of Power" on the ergo, as Nat's machine was free. It is actually less than an hour, includes warm ups, and with the intervals you are only riding hard for 24 minutes. To give Russell some context, even in the crap weather this winter, and having a couple of weeks off with illness, he always rides well over the 40kph average in the ATTA time trials. He has done an impressive 4'25" on the bike leg of the Busselton Ironman too.
For running, the most important thing for me is to manage injuries. Running with Julie has been a blessing, and given me some decent conditioning. Most of my runs now are with Julie (we have both got entries into the New York Marathon in November 2014 - a long-term plan for Julie is to coincide her 50th birthday celebrations with her marathon debut). This also takes away some of the selfish aspects of Ironman training. I am able to run 4 minute kms with a bit of training over short distances, BUT, the problem is that I then have to take a couple of months off for my knees to recover. On the other hand, my body does seem to be able to cope with running slower for longer runs. So for running there would be no programme, just a general plan, which would be amended when the body complained. My key goal was to do the City to Surf Half Marathon at just a fraction quicker than 5 minute kms. To get through these few weeks injury free I have to accept that I need several days a week with no runs, or rides, to recover fully from each session. It would be nice to do a 4 hour marathon in Kona, but a more realistic aim is to be healthy on the day and just see how it goes - hopefully an Ironman shuffle somewhere just over 4 hours.
The 1 hour 46 swim in Lake Zurich also rammed home the fact that something had to be done there. So I committed to a weekly regime unlike anything I had done before. And I could not use the weather as an excuse here. So every Monday morning was with Paul Newsome's Swim Smooth at Claremont, and every Monday evening at Craigie with Aaron Robertson's North Coast squad. Yep, twice in one day. Wednesday evening would be back with Aaron again at Craigie, and Friday morning on my own at Craigie. Here, I was lucky to meet up with a group of mainly North Coasters which I gate crashed until my Kona departure. Four times a week. A quantum leap for me.
So, how did it go?
Week 10: 3 swims, 6km (lost Friday to work commitment); 1 road ride, 90km; 1 hour of power on ergo; 3 runs 24km.
Week 9: 4 swims 7km; 3 rides 170km; 2 runs 16 km, sore calf.
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| Indian Ocean Adventure Race - this is the run leg! |
The 75 km ride to Yanchep with Russell on Tuesday morning, which included an "hour of power", where he let me sit on his wheel, was like a motor paced session for me.
Week 8: Key day Sunday TT riding out and back. 4 swims, 10km; 3 rides, 295km (included a 20km TT at >39kph), plus one 28 min Power Crank session and one 28 min Ergo session; 2 runs, 21km.
Week 7: Key day, Sunday, City to Surf Half Marathon 1hour 39 at just <5 min km (sore legs for rest of week). 4 swims, 12km including a 4km swim at Craigie (longest pool swim ever);
In the midst of this unprecedented shit weather, triathletes doing 3 or 4 hour indoor cycling sessions, for a race that is 4 months away, kept popping up on Facebook. For me, this is beyond comprehension.
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| IOAR racer, North Coaster Kona Ironman and writer of the best triathlon diary - ever - Paul Black |
But at last, Thursday, a key cycling day, and the first Thursday since I got back with a chance to do a proper ride. Weather during the night, was again shit, but I rode down to the start of Pappa's wet and cold. Dedication! But no Tim Howley, Ronnie Sammut, Deccy, Russel or Nat. In fact there were just 4 young lads in their 20s. Between them there was zero body fat, zero body hair, and every one was on a team bike, in team gear. Time for a phone call to find out where Deccy was. "King's Park, not doing Pappas in this, too dangerous". We eventually met up for a decent, solid Thursday ride of more than 110 kms.
Week 6: 4 swims, 9km; 3 rides, 400km plus 1 ergo session; 3 runs, 25km.
Started off this week on the Saturday with one of the hardest rides I have ever done. Billy's Busso 2013 group was off to do Julimar Road. I wanted to do this ride, but this was a big day for our family. Daughter Rebecca was due to fly in to Perth, just after noon, after being in Europe since early February. We had to leave home at 11.30 a.m. to pick her up. Plan A: start with JCC, then solo to 2 Rocks and back home. This is a regular IM ride for Bill, Apple Nick and I. However, again, the weather was awful. Plan B: Drive to Bullsbrook and catch up with Billy's group who left at 6, with the aim of riding out to the 60km mark then turning round. I arrived at 6 40 but it was absolutely pissing down. It looked like it would clear up soon, and in 5 mins it did. So off I went to catch them up. I caught up with a couple early on, including Miriam who was having a bad day. I felt like I was really going well on Julimar Road, I was flying. But the clock was ticking, it was 9 a.m. and I had not caught the main group. I had done 58km, but why was I doing over 40kph going up hill? Shit. Massive tail wind and I have to turn round into it and get back to the car by 11. Turn round now! The next 58km was probably one of the most difficult and stressful solo rides I have ever done. Even trying to hold a modest 30kph was proving impossible. Where was the strong man of Billy's group, Nino. I was hoping they would catch me and I could sit on Nino's wheel and have a rest for a few kms. Nino, nor anyone else from Bill's group appeared. Watching the speed drop, whilst, meanwhile, the watch relentlessly ticked on, was traumatic. At one point I was nearly in tears. That was one killer headwind. Anyway, my paternal instinct managed to force more watts through the pedals than I usually manage and we got to the airport just in time.
The following day I missed the start of another ride. The JCC social ride to Freo. I chased them hard all the way and just caught them up as they got to the Capuccino Strip. Knackered. At least I would be able to sit in and have an easy ride home. Then Deccy turned up. "Do you fancy a ride around the river?" So around the river we went. Unfortunately, he knows me too well, and knows I need toughening up. He would not let me sit on his wheel. So another solid ride taking the weekend total over 200km.
But Thursday put both those rides in the shade. Down the West Coast Highway to do the Freo Pappas ride. Along the way riders joined up that were basically a Who's Who of Perth's elite cycling community. This ride was at warp speed. Just riding to the start was epic. Even Matt Illingworth had a word with Matt Dec to get him to slow down. This ride goes as far south as Anketell Road, then round Wandi. This seems like a long way down the Kwinana Freeway in a car! When we eventually got back to the river, at Shelley, we re-grouped, and along with Russell, Nat and Special K, who has done more IM than I have, it was off to Welshpool Road for a big loop of Pickering Brook and Kalamunda. A massive, hard, fast day of 192 km. At last. A good, solid, hard big week.
Week 5: 3 swims, 6.5 km; Cycle: 1 ride, 160 km + 1 ergo (including Dwellingup 100 MTB); 2 runs, 34km.
Dwellingup 100 MTB was the perfect Ironman training ride. Just less than 6 hours with pulse around 130. Still very tired from the massive previous week and the 192 just 2 days earlier. My lower back was as debilitating as ever during the MTB. Needed a few days off after this.
Week 4: 4 swims, 9.5 km; 1 ride, 160km plus ergo; 3 runs, 27km
This week started with a disaster. Typically, before an Ironman I am not too worried about lack of miles at this stage. For me it is the next three weekends which are key. They need to be big rides and progressively longer runs. I could not afford a completely lost weekend, but shit happens. A bad storm early on Saturday morning fried our electricity meter, and caused a few problems which could not be put off. Western Power had to disconnect our power for 3 days. So what? We only have one, electric access door to the garage, where the bikes are. No power, no bikes, no riding. The implications of this meant little else could be done this weekend. And the legs weren't up for a decent run either. Wasting time waiting for tradesmen was also another exercise in futility I could have done without.
So "only" one ride, and one ergo session. But, what a ride. Another Thursday Pappas ride in shit weather. For some reason the start of the ride was a bit "iffy". A couple or riders touched wheels inches in front of me. They were good riders, and stayed on, but, it could have been so different. Russell, Nat and myself all felt a bit vulnerable so we let them go and rode the rest of the way off the back. Nat probably should not have been riding, she was not well, but insistent she needed to do her 150km regardless. Welshpool Road it was, after the Pappas ride, but at least we did compromise and do the "short" Kalamunda loop. What made it a good session for me was that I was on a deadline to be home and had to leave them at Kalamunda to time trial solo, into a headwind, back home. So not many rides, not many kilometres, but that, combined with one of Deccy's Ergo sessions left me feeling stronger, but also knackered.
Week 3: 2 swims, 5km. 4 rides, 240 km.; 1 run, turned round at 1km, Left knee not good. No runs for rest of week.
This should have been another big weekend. The plan was to ride to Champion Lakes, do the 20km TT then ride home. Would have given me 160 for the day and a 400+ week, but the wild weather warning meant I drove there. Surely less miles but not crashing is better than risking injury. Sadly, that calculation did not work. My left knee flared up at the end of the TT. Taking Naproxen is not something I do lightly, but not much choice at this stage. Had a couple of aborted rides this week too.
And it is getting so close. Just 2 more rides, and one run, then Kona it is. So much to do (not triathlon related), so little time!
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