Race Photos from Shepparton

Here are some photos from my race in Shepparton.

They are in order but unfortunately the photographers are unable to get photos of the swim.

1st photo is on the first of two 45 km laps of the bike, cruising along one the many flat roads around the Greater Shepparton region.

At the turn-around after 45 kms. I was very happy with my time split at this point and I was feeling good.

Just after the turn-around.

Out on the second lap and I was very comfortable in my aero position the whole way.

My new aero helmet, which I only got just ten days before the race, was put to good use. I really noticed the difference between this and my regular helmet with the way air flows over my head and cuts through the wind.

About 2 km into the run. I started out at a good pace but was a bit too fast to maintain for 21.1 km.

Going past the race site and finish line area at the start of either my second or third lap of 7 km.

The finish line! Don't be fooled by the time clock. I started 28 minutes behind the professionals so the clock indicates the time after they started.

And that was my day. Behind where this camera was sitting was the athletes finish tent with ice cream and fruit salad, which was awesome after a hot run. It came with a side of flat coke, which is equally as good during and after a long race.

Race Recovery

It’s been 7 days since the race in Shepparton and I’m feeling quite good. I have had 3 days without any exercise at all and 4 days with some light, low intensity sessions lasting between 30 and 60 minutes. I haven’t slept very well this week because of my early shifts at work but once I go onto late shifts, in a few days time, this will be the extra little bit necessary to complete my post-race recovery.  After which, I will begin my building phase for the Geelong 70.3.

I will complete two main cycles of training for Geelong. It will officially start on Monday December 2 with a 3 week strength building phase followed by a rest week over Christmas. This phase will include the following:-

Ø  Weight training for all body parts.

Ø  Extensive core training.

Ø  Extended big gear efforts on the bike during a mid-week wind-trainer session.

Ø  Strength swim session will use paddles while wearing board shorts for extra drag, and;

Ø  I will perform my long run mainly up hill.

I will be aiming to be as strong as I was prior to the Shepparton race in order to be able to train greater speed during my second training cycle throughout January. The second cycle will begin on December 30 and go for 3 and ½ weeks before having one week of recovery, one week of sharpening my body back up and a few light days before the race on February 9.

The main differences between the first and second cycles will be:-

Ø  Adding some higher paced efforts to my mid-week wind-trainer strength session.

Ø  Some higher paced efforts on the treadmill during my main interval session.

Ø  No board shorts during my strength swim.

Ø  Power based weight sessions, and;

Ø  Higher volume of training across all disciplines.

As I will be building on top of the base I already developed, by preparing for Shepparton, the first cycle is aimed at getting me back to that condition and the second cycle will be aimed at getting faster and fitter overall. Over the next 11 weeks, I will hopefully see a further reduction in my weight come race day. I was 73.5kg at Shepparton and I am hoping, with this increase in training for Geelong, I will reach about 72kg. With the hillier run course in Geelong, I think this will make a significant difference. However, during my race recovery I have already gone up to 75kg. Admittedly, I have eaten almost the same amounts as I was before the race but, obviously, without the same amounts of exercise. Nevertheless, this won’t hang around long once I’m back in the swing of things.

Before I sign off, I’d like to give a shout out to my mate ‘Rocket’, who competed alongside me in Shepparton. He has been training super hard this year as he, also, builds towards Geelong and then onto the Ironman at Port Macquarie in May, 2014. At Shepparton, he smashed out a 21 minute PB with a 5:07 finish. I’m really stoked for his huge progress and it’s so pleasing to see others enjoy this sport as much as I do.

If anyone out there wants to give it a go, to see what all the hype is about and see for yourself just what your body is capable of, send me an email at lincolnspt@hotmail.com

With my experience as a Personal Trainer and Triathlon coach, as well as 5 years in the sport myself, I would be more than happy to help get you pointed in the right direction.

Learn By Racing

It was a 5 and ½ month preparation for my race in Shepparton. I achieved a great finish but also saw areas where I know I can improve further and have even better performances in the future. I needed this race to gauge how far I had progressed and it showed some great signs, along with areas that need extra work. I will now focus my attention on the Geelong 70.3 and, hopefully, a podium spot.

My 1.9km swim time of 32.37 minutes was several minutes below what I anticipated and it essentially cost me a podium finish with the third place getter in my age group getting home less than 3 minutes ahead of me. 

I know that my technique was flawed throughout most of the swim and I put this down to a few points:-

Ø  I didn’t train enough with sighting and open water swimming. This meant, in the race, lifting my head regularly for the extra sighting needed, caused my legs to drop significantly in the water and not allow me to swim in the streamlined position I was used to from the pool.

Ø  My kick wasn’t strong enough to maintain decent momentum and body position while I was sighting, and;

Ø  Although, my arms and shoulders felt relatively good, they weren’t turning over at the desired pace. I feel my strokes per minute would have been higher than what I am used to in the pool which then resulted in less efficiency through the water and also a contributor to my lagging body position.

Over the next couple of months I will be working to improve each of these areas:-

Ø  I will incorporate tougher strength training in the pool to improve endurance and power.

Ø  Devote one whole session each week to technique, arm turnover and kicking to improve overall efficiency. 

Ø  Work even harder on more core strength.

Ø  Try to raise my overall race pace, and;

Ø  Prepare better for open water swimming prior to the race.

My 90km bike leg was the best part of my day, completing it in a time of 2 hours 21 minutes and 59 seconds at an average speed just over 38km/h. This gives me great confidence in the possibility of getting even faster as it is an 18 minute improvement on last year. I have trained a great deal better than I have in previous years with adequate amounts of over distance rides combined with strength and power efforts. I will continue to build on this and expect I can improve by another 5 – 10 minutes for the February Geelong race. The only changes I will make to my bike training will be adding an extra couple of hours to my weekly total, while pushing harder to build more strength/power and developing my higher cadence capabilities further as there are some extended downhill portions on the Geelong bike course.

My run was, also, a little below expectation. I turned in a 1:27:34 split but was hoping for a 1:25 or better. I started off at my desired pace below 4:00min/km but I couldn’t hold it for more than the first 3kms and had to settle for a first lap average of 4:02min/km which then blew out to a total run average of 4:09min/km. I put this down to a couple of factors:-

Ø  My form wasn’t what it should have been. I sat back too much and didn’t run how I have trained which has better forward momentum.

Ø  My long run in training wasn’t a below race pace, over-distance effort to build endurance. Instead, it was a race pace effort broken up into 4 x 5km segments. I thought this would serve me well but I now think it wasn’t appropriate when combined with other high paced interval sessions throughout the rest of my training week.

Ø  My leg turn-over was slow. I wasn’t able to maintain a high enough turn-over which has a huge effect on my speed under fatigue.

I will look to improve my run with the following methods:-

Ø  Train my leg turn-over with a slightly different technique to promote a greater number of steps per minute.

Ø  I will perform a longer, endurance based weekly long run on a hilly course. It will be a minimum of 90 minutes and extend out to 2 hours closer to the race. As the Geelong run course has many undulations, this will be essential practice and strength training.

Ø  My weights and core training will increase to promote stronger, powerful running muscles. It will, also, benefit my cycling greatly for an undulating course helping me feel fresher coming off the bike.

I’m very motivated to get back into serious training but I won’t be doing that until I have completed 2 weeks of recovery post Shepparton. My recovery is several days with no exercise and other days with short, easy sessions for active recovery.

I know I can go faster in Geelong and I can’t wait to put out a big performance there.

Shepparton Ironman 70.3 - Race Report

Sunday, November 17. It was an absolutely gorgeous morning in Shepparton and this was the most relaxed I had ever been before a triathlon of any kind, even though, there was much more riding on this race for me. I had higher expectations than ever before but, this time, I had trained for it.

I was in the greatest condition of my life and I was pumped to see how I would perform with all that preparation behind me. Although, there was a change on race morning to my start time, it didn’t bother me. I was now starting at 7:31am, instead of 7:02am. It did mean I wasn’t going to be starting just behind the professionals but my overall time compared to everyone else was the important stat to worry about at the end of the day.

The hooter sounded to start my age group swim and I tried to stay ahead of the main pack for the first 100 metres or so. I was hoping to find some clear water ahead of me early but I had to contend with many other athletes for the majority of the 1.9km swim.

Things weren’t going well in the first half of the swim. My technique was all over the place. I could feel my arms not moving through the water properly and my legs were dragging far too low. At about half way, I finally had some more space away from other athletes and got my form in order. I reached the swim finish and checked my watch straight away. It wasn’t pretty. Just over 32 and ½ minutes. I was aiming to go under 30 minutes and believed that was going to be relatively straight forward. I was disappointed but I didn’t let it get me down because I knew my best work was still to come.

I got through transition quickly and mounted my bike really fast. I had practiced mounting my bike and getting into my bike shoes – already attached to the pedals – prior to race day to make sure I would get up to speed ASAP. I started pedaling in a medium gear and allowed my legs a couple of minutes to get some good blood flow before going up a gear and settling into a solid pace.

Conditions were perfect! There was almost no wind to speak of whatsoever. My plan on the bike was to not even look at my watch or speedometer until I reached the turn-around point at 45kms and simply go by how my legs felt. I didn’t want to know if I was going fast enough until that point. I just wanted to go by what I believed to be the right feeling in my legs which I was very used to from all of my training. I was hoping to do 2 hours 25 minutes for the 90km ride and at the half way point I was right on target at 1 hour 11 minutes. My average speed at 38km/h. I was wrapped with that so all I had to focus on from that point was maintaining the same gear I had used for the majority of the first lap, push the same cadence and ensure I took in an adequate amount of food and drink in preparation for the run.

On the flat terrain and having no wind meant I could put my head down, stay on my aero bars comfortably and maintain a constant speed for the entire second 45km lap. It was perfect because I had trained like this so much. I felt amazing and fast! I got to the end of the 90kms and my speedometer showed 2 hours 21 minutes 59 seconds and an average speed of 38km/h. I did the exact same pace for both laps of the 90km ride. I was stoked with that performance.

On to the run and my legs were feeling quite good considering the effort I had put out on the bike. However, after just a couple of kms, my VMO – Vastus Medialis Oblique muscle, part of the quadriceps group – on my left leg began twitching and threatening to cramp. I figured it would work itself out as I got into my running stride but it didn’t turn out that way. Although, it never actually cramped, it was uncomfortable and fatigued for the rest of the run. I don’t feel this had a major effect on my time as the rest of my muscles fatigued just as much eventually.

On the first of 3 laps on the run, I started at my desired pace of around 3:50min/km and held that for the first 3kms before it became clear that this wasn’t possible to maintain for the 21kms. I backed off and went through the end of the first lap at an average pace of 4:02min/km. I now aimed to maintain 4:00min/km but the fatigue was really kicking in and I couldn’t keep this pace as I went through the second lap with a 4:08min/km pace. It was now a huge mental battle to try not let the pace drop too much. I focussed on my technique and stride turn-over and tried to remain as consistent as possible for the remainder of the journey.

I completed the final lap at a 4:15min/km pace for an overall 21km average of 4:09min/km. My total run time of 1 hour 27 minutes 34 seconds was 2 and ½ minutes faster than last year. However, the most important time was my overall race time which came in at 4 hours 25 minutes 23 seconds for a 21 minute improvement on last year. This gave me 5^th place in my age group and 35^th from 1500 total competitors.

5 months ago, at the start of my preparation for this race, I set my goals for the race and each individual leg. They were:-

Ø  4 hours 30 minutes or better total race time.

Ø  Swim 30 minutes or better.

Ø  Ride 2 hours 25 minutes or better.

Ø  Run 1 hour 25 minutes or better.

Ø  Finish in the top 10 of my age group.

Ø  Finish in the top 100 overall from all competitors.

I reckon 4 out of 6 is a good result.

I will hopefully receive my official race photos soon and I will post some.

In my next blog I will explain what I have learned from this race and how I believe I will get faster for my next attempt at a Half-Ironman, which will hopefully be in Geelong on February 9.

7 Days To Go

Just one week until show time. The forecast for Shepparton next Sunday is mostly sunny and 25 degrees, which is practically perfect for me. The wind is not predicted to be too much so it has the makings for a good time. I think I can perform as well as anyone in the heat so if the sun has some kick during the run I’ll be happy.

After having a good end to my rest week by doing another solid long ride and 8km treadmill run today with 7km @ 18km/h, the body is feeling fresh and strong. My best session was a swim on Friday. I just did 2km but I wore my wetsuit in the pool. Although, I was very warm, I performed about 10 x 100m at, what felt to be, slightly below race pace yet I was doing each 100m repetition up to 10 seconds faster than I normally do when pushing hard. This meant a few things, a) the rest had done its job, and, b) the wetsuit makes a massive difference to my speed in the water through creating a more buoyant position and having a sleek outer layer to cut through the water. It gave me a lot of confidence for the race.

The next 6 days will consist of some short, sharp sessions across all 3 disciplines as well as some weights to remind my muscles of the strength and power they possess.

Monday is just a swim. A solid 3km with some efforts performed over 200m with paddles and a few 100s at race pace. I will do a 10 – 15 minute core workout directly after this.

Tuesday will be my last hard run which I will do on the treadmill to reduce the impact on my joints. I will do a long warm-up with about 15 minutes spent on drills and dynamic stretching before jumping on the treadmill for 3 sets of 2km @ 20km/h and 1km @ 15km/h. I will follow this with a weights session consisting of Push-ups, chin ups, swim specific stretch cord exercises, deadlifts, swiss ball hamstring curls and single leg squat jumps.

Wednesday, I’ll start with a ride on the indoor trainer including 30 minutes of alternating single leg pedaling and 45 minutes of higher cadence in a light gear. Afterwards, I will run off the bike for 5km at a steady, below race pace effort.

Thursday will start with a light ride for 60 minutes, then, it is back in the pool for my last quality swim. 3km again with a long warm-up. 10 x 50m above race pace and 12 x 100m at cruising pace, all with approximately 30 – 40 seconds rest in between.

Friday, things will really wind down with another light ride for an hour, followed by a gentle 4 – 5km run.

On Saturday, I am going to ride for 30 minutes before I drive to Shepparton. At the race site I will do a short jog with a few drills to loosen things up before I have a short, practice swim in the lake. And, that’s it. The day after will be race day and all of the hard work will be tested in a big way. Both physical and mental.

Finally, I would like to congratulate Dallas on his stellar performance at Ironman 70.3 Mandurah today. His first half ironman was done in 32 degree heat and he completed it with flying colours. Some terrific signs for the future which I am hoping he will look to take advantage of and continue on in other long course triathlon events. It really helps me to remember how to tough out a race when the going gets tough. A half marathon in 32 degrees after 3 and ½ hours of swimming and cycling. Now that’s mental toughness!

Great work mate!

Last Big Training Week - Review

In a word, successful.

My final big training week before my two week taper into the Shepparton 70.3 Ironman was a good one. However, I didn’t complete each session exactly as specified due to fatigue. I put the fatigue down to working early shifts and this affecting the amount of sleep I was getting which, in turn, affected my recovery from hard training. Yet, I was still happy with the work I did do.

During my swims on Monday and Wednesday, my pace was a little slower than I anticipated and Friday’s swim I cut short by 1km. During my brick session on Tuesday I did just 2 hard sets instead of 3 and my long ride on Saturday I opted for an extra hour sleep and just did 90kms at full race pace instead of 130kms.

My long ride on Saturday with a short run off the bike was my best session of the week. It was my first ride after putting my race wheels on and the difference in speed was outstanding. The fastest average speed I have ever done outside of a race. I didn’t feel that I was missing out on anything by not doing the 130kms as I felt fresh on the bike and ran well afterwards. I then completed another excellent long run on Sunday.

Initially, I had concerns about my body when I was feeling slower in the pool but after increasing my swim workload by 1km per session the previous week I knew that I had a lot of hard work to recover from. I anticipate having my speed back up during race week after a good rest period. The same goes for my cycling and running too. Although, my times during the last week were still where I wanted them, I felt like I was fatiguing a little sooner and finding it harder to get my muscles working at the start of a workout.

I am now on my second consecutive complete rest day and it is not fun. I am being quite cautious with my diet as it would be easy to overeat but, as I’m not burning anywhere near the amount of calories that I have been, I am focussing on fruit, vegetables and salads with adequate protein and some muesli in the mornings. This is essentially the same to most training days but I will reduce the portion sizes slightly and try to avoid further carbs, like rice, which will be incorporated as my carbo-loading period comes in next week.

Tomorrow, I will return to training with an easy 3km swim and some light cycling. I will then train every day up until the race. The longest session, by far, will be on Sunday when I will do an 80km ride followed by a 6 – 8km run. The ride will be below race pace for most of it with a few short time trial efforts thrown in to keep the muscles firing. Most sessions will be with that same mentality, not pushing too hard or for too long and just doing a few bursts to remind the muscles of what they are required to do on race day. The two days before the race will have short sessions so not to produce any real fatigue but provide necessary blood flow to working muscles and keep them feeling fresh.

You can’t help wondering if you’re fit enough during a taper. I know my mate, Dallas, is wondering this at the moment, as he prepares for his first Half Ironman in Mandurah, this Sunday. When you back off the training in a big way after doing so much beforehand you don’t feel quite the same and it can seem like a lack of fitness. However, if you’ve done the training, you have to trust that because if you think you’re going to get any fitter in the last two weeks before a long distance race, you would be wrong. Just doing a small portion of the training you had been doing in the lead up should be enough to freshen up the muscles without sending you completely insane.

Don’t worry Dallas, I know how you feel. Just enjoy it!