Challenge Melbourne 2019

Sunday April 14, 2019. 

Swim 1.9km (turned out to be 2.1km according to my GPS watch) – 36:47 

Transition 1 – 2:10 

Bike 90km – 2:21:16 

Transition 2 – 2:21 

Run 21.1km – 1:28:32 

Overall – 4:31:07 

The previous time I competed at Challenge Melbourne, in 2015, it was held at Brighton. On that occasion I described it as my best ever performance as I set a personal best 90km bike split and felt really good on the run where I stormed home during the last few kms. 

The event is now held up the road in St. Kilda and, once again, I am calling this my best ever performance. I set a new personal best 90km bike split and felt the best I ever have on the half marathon run leg. Also, I felt great in the swim as I was relaxed throughout and relatively fresh coming out of the water. 

Why is this my best performance? 

My personal best time for a half ironman distance race is 4 hours 25 minutes, from Ironman 70.3 Shepparton, 2013, which has very similar course characteristics to Challenge Melbourne being very flat. Even though I didn’t go as fast at this race, I felt better across each discipline and I know the only reason I didn’t go faster is because I had trained only a small amount leading up to the race. In particular, it was the fact I had only spent about four and a half months training specifically after starting in November from scratch. This meant I had to progress my training carefully to ensure I did not over-train and create too much fatigue without adequate recovery. 

In those four and a half months, the most amount of time I spent swimming, riding and running in any single week was six hours. This is significantly less than the amount I was doing before that personal best time in 2013. In fact, it is about half. In addition to that training, I performed DNS (Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilisation) exercises nearly every day for between 15 minutes up to an hour. This made a huge difference to my success because I was training my body to move and breath more efficiently. 

To have gone this fast and feel this good after such low volume in training is astounding. There is no question that makes it my best performance to date and it fills me with confidence for the future. I anticipate my next race to be Challenge Shepparton, in November, which is another half ironman on a flat course. I'm very excited to implement a similar but longer training build up to that race and see what I can do. 

THE SWIM 

I almost missed the start of my swim wave. I literally walked into the start area as the horn sounded. I was a bit late getting on my wetsuit and I didn't do any specific warming up but I had done enough moving around not to be cold. However, I did do some short bursts of backstroke and breaststroke during the first few hundred metres to help loosen the shoulders up. From that point on, I was consistent and comfortable. I had done a few practice swims in my wetsuit in the two weeks before the race which made a big difference. I came out of the water feeling as fresh as I ever have in a half ironman. 

THE BIKE 

I decided to wear my road bike shoes instead of my triathlon specific bike shoes. This meant taking longer in transition to run with my shoes to the bike mount line and stop to put them on and do up the ratchets. It was the right decision because my tri shoes are a bit old and don't fit as well. The better fit allows me to produce and maintain more power on the pedals. 

As soon as I was pushing on the pedals I knew my legs were feeling good. It was just a question of whether I could hold my power for 90km. 

It was 3 laps of 30km and I went through the first lap at just under 40km/h average. I was really happy with the first lap as I still felt strong starting the second and I now had several other riders of similar standard around me which helped me to keep pushing. 

After the 45km turnaround at Black Rock my pace started to drop slightly but I maintained the same perceived effort and still averaged about 39km/h for the second lap. 

On the third lap I made sure I stayed focused on technique, being relaxed and comfortable in my aero position and maintaining my speed despite the building fatigue. My legs stayed strong, my body felt good and I completed the 90km ride with an average speed above 38km/h. 

THE RUN 

I was pleasantly surprised how I felt starting the run. My legs were ready to run as soon as I left transition and I averaged about 4:10min/km for the first 6km. The next few kms were slower because I was feeling my right VMO (Vastus Medialis Obliquus - one of the quadriceps muscles) start twitching like it was about to cramp. For about 3 kms I shortened my stride and tried to run as fast as I could without it actually cramping. At around the 9km mark, the twitching subsided and it never bothered me again. Just to be sure, I took a mouthful of Pickle Juice at the halfway point. Pickle Juice was the naming sponsor of the race and it is a strong electrolyte drink, designed specifically to reduce and prevent cramps (although, there is some conjecture whether electrolytes are truly the answer to cramps), that tastes like pickles. It's not as bad as you might think. 

Throughout the run, I took water and coke at the aid stations and this worked well, particularly because it wasn't very hot and I didn't feel the need to consume a lot of fluid. 

I was able to keep a very consistent pace for the entire run finishing with an average pace of around 4:15min/km. It wasn't so much the pace of my run that I was happy with. It was how strong I felt for the 21km after putting in a fast bike leg and my new and improved run technique never faulted. 

MY RUN TECHNIQUE

I have applied some of the theories of renowned triathlon coach, Brett Sutton, to improve my running. Specifically, to improve my running during a half ironman. This is an important distinction because running a half marathon (21.1km) after swimming 1.9km and riding 90km creates much different circumstances for the body to operate in as opposed to running a half marathon on its own. 

The changes I have implemented are; slightly shorten my stride, reduce impact on the ground, increase my leg turnover (cadence), keep my hips forward, relax arm carry and drive arms back with each swing to allow better body rotation and improve overall posture by extending through the crown of my head.

Less impact on the ground is created by having less vertical knee lift or drive and less foot lift to the back during extension. This contributes to reducing overall vertical impact on the ground which may reduce the accumulation of fatigue as there is less force to absorb from each step. In addition, the use of my arm swing is essential for efficient rotation of the body, having a relaxed upper body and assisting with maintaining rhythm in conjunction with my higher cadence.

Each of these measures contributed to my ability to maintain a more consistent pace throughout the run as fatigue seemed to accumulate less quickly than in past races. Of course, pacing and nutrition are important too but the biggest factor to this success was technique.

WHAT'S NEXT?

The next events I plan to race are:-

• Melbourne Half Marathon - October 13.
• Yarrawonga Olympic distance - October 19.
• Challenge Shepparton - Half Ironman - November 10.
• Ironman 70.3 Geelong - Half Ironman - February 23.

My main goals will be to challenge for the top placings in my age group at each of the triathlons and to gain a qualifying slot for the 2020 Ironman 70.3 World Championships, to be held in New Zealand, at the Geelong race.

My build up to these events will be all about consistency. After performing so well off such little training I know, I don't need to do much more to improve further. All I need is to perform consistent work over an extended period with small and appropriate periodical increases/changes to my training stimulus while maintaining a holistic approach to training and recovery. Also, a couple of occasional blocks of several days where I perform a much larger amount of training, followed by adequate recovery, to boost overall fitness.

I am very excited about the possibilities for the upcoming events and I look forward to telling you more about it as I work towards the season.

Cheers,

Lincoln.

Ironman 70.3 Geelong

In short, it was a good day and a relief to finally get back to half ironman racing. It was perfect weather conditions and I put in a consistent performance that I think was reflective of the way I prepared for the event in a short amount of time.

Swim 1.9km – 33:56

T1 – 04:03

Bike 90.1km – 2:38:57

T2 – 03:44

Run 21.1km – 1:37:59

Total – 4:58:37

Pre-race

I felt good in the few hours pre-race. I had some scrambled eggs and rice for breakfast about 2 and a half hours before start time and a short black coffee as well. I was one of the first few to show up at the race site eager to set up in transition to allow as much time as possible to warm up. I got an awesome car park too.

I had my mate, Dallas, keeping me company, which was terrific. He also put me up for the night. He has done several half ironman races before but like me it hadn’t been since Ballarat in December 2016. Even the day before the race he was wishing he was competing. Being around the race and feeling the pre-race vibe only made him want it more. The whole atmosphere around a triathlon event, especially a well organised and supported one like Geelong, is quite invigorating.

I spent about 30 minutes doing a variety of DNS (see my previous blog) exercises as my warm up before getting in my wetsuit and heading down to the swim start. The swim start was changed from mass wave starts for each age category to a rolling start. This was due to the presence of sea urchins having taken up residence close to shore off Eastern Beach so the organisers made a special chute with rubber mats lining the sea bed for us to enter the water. This chute was very narrow so, to ensure fairness for each athlete’s race, we filed in gradually and our individual race time only started just as we entered the water.

The Swim

As with all of my training leading up to this event, my swimming had been limited. I had focused on technique as much as possible during training without doing much volume. My longest swim session had only been 2km and the swim in the race is 1.9km but my focus was on engraining more quality technique into my swimming ability.

My aim for the swim was to put in a consistent effort where I didn’t feel I was exerting myself greatly but was not losing a lot of ground. However, it didn’t take long for the fatigue to set in through my shoulders. After the first few hundred metres I set myself little targets such as swim freestyle to the next marker buoy and then have a brief breaststroke break. The breaststroke helped to relieve the fatigue slightly and I mostly achieved my objective for the opening leg of the race. Clearly, the lack of volume in my swim training was the biggest limiting factor to why I didn’t go faster or why I couldn’t maintain my freestyle the entire way but I wasn’t unhappy with the start.

The Bike

I didn’t rush through transition because I knew if I did it would unnecessarily spike my heart rate and waste energy that could be used elsewhere. As I did for the entire race, I tried to keep my heart rate and breathing under control. It didn’t help that my heart rate monitor wasn’t synching to my watch or bike computer for almost the whole race. However, I have developed a good understanding of my perceived effort over my ten years of triathlon as I didn’t train with a heart rate monitor or bike cadence (RPM) until about two years ago. Once onto the bike I focused on trying to remain as comfortable as possible in my aero position while maintaining a consistent turnover of approximately 85 RPM.

There are two significant uphill sections on the course at Geelong during each of the two 45km laps. Initially, you go uphill from Eastern Beach, shortly after mounting the bike, for approximately 300 metres and repeat this when you start the second lap. Then, at approximately 22km, there is a steeper section, also of approximately 300 metres in length, which is repeated at around the 67km mark of the 90km bike leg. Each time I completed these uphill sections I controlled my effort carefully. In my three previous participations of this event, I pushed hard on these uphill sections but without having as much training behind me for this race I knew that approach would not serve me well.

As I started the second lap I was feeling quite tight through my hips and lower back. This was a concern and I thought it may last for the remainder of the ride. Fortunately, it subsided by about the 60km mark and I was able to continue my consistent effort through to the end. My second lap was only a few minutes slower than the first which was pleasing.

The Run

Once again, I didn’t rush through transition and I needed a toilet stop too which indicated I had either taken in too much fluid during the bike leg or I hadn’t absorbed it very well. This will be something I carefully assess before my next half ironman race at Challenge Melbourne on April 14.

I felt really good as I began the run. I didn’t struggle too much to get my legs moving and I was maintaining about a 4:20min/km pace for the first 6km. From that point on, my average pace slowed gradually and some of my latter kilometers were up towards 5:00min/km. However, I just tried to keep moving as consistently as possible, maintain technique and take in sufficient fluid and sugar. In fact, I walked a number of aid stations to ensure I didn’t miss taking in enough as it was heating up quickly.

I was able to find a bit more spring in my step as I went through the last 2 – 3 km and cruised down the finish chute to enjoy crossing the finish line. There was a sense of relief as well as satisfaction and a feeling of ‘I’m back’.

Nutrition

Up until approximately 18 months ago, I followed a very low carbohydrate, high fat lifestyle which included a lot of intermittent fasting. This included racing with fat sources as my race nutritional intake and not taking in many calories overall during long races. This had some benefits for me but, ultimately, I found it wasn’t conducive for achieving my best performance.

In the past 18 months my nutrition approach has evolved further aimed at helping my training and race performances. I now consume a relatively even balance of carbohydrates, protein and fats and time the consumption of certain types of foods around training sessions. 

However, compared to the general dietary advice, which I generally disagree with, I have a lower intake of carbohydrate and higher consumption of fat. I still do occasional fasted training sessions and intermittent fasting to ensure I maintain my fat adaptation but I also train my body to use carbohydrates efficiently for race day too.

I have returned to using sugar based energy gels during races and some longer, high intensity training sessions. However, this is still lower than what I was consuming during races and training 4 – 5 years ago. During the 2014 Ironman 70.3 World Championships, in Canada, I consumed eight gels and a can of ‘V’ during a 2 hour 26 minute bike leg and then a couple more gels and some coke during the run. About 1400 calories in total because I thought that’s what I needed to perform.

Compare that to this race where I had six gels in 2 hours 38 minutes on the bike and sipped a combination of water, electrolytes and coke during the run. Probably only 800 calories in total. My energy from nutrition was never an issue.

I will always be aware of how I eat and evolve to get the best out of myself but I am confident I am on a good thing with my current approach as I look towards next summer and a return to challenging for the top spots in my age group.

What’s Next?

I will be racing the half ironman distance at Challenge Melbourne on April 14. I have had some great swim and run training building for this event but I haven’t done as much as I would have liked on the bike. However, I am excited to race again and finish the season on a high. This will be followed by a couple of weeks of recovery.

Cheers,

Lincoln.

The Comeback

It’s been over two years since my last half ironman event, in December 2016, and it was a month before that when I realised my body was a mess. I got myself to the finish line in that race, but it was an ugly experience. I was in big trouble. 

On February 17, I will return to half ironman (swim 1.9km, ride 90km, run 21.1km) racing at the Ironman 70.3 Geelong event with a new perspective on training, movement and health. The 18 months up to April 2018 saw me try and fail to improve my body through mainstream, conventional treatment. It wasn’t until I gave adequate time to an alternative approach, and properly understood it, that I was able to see it change my body for the better. It took me a long time to find what would ultimately be my saviour but once I found it, I was changed for good and now I see it as something that would benefit just about anyone. 

Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilisation (DNS). 

During 2016, and probably the several years leading up to then, I trained my body into a twisted state. My body had developed a wide range of bad compensation patterns and imbalances. I now know, this was a result of not having an appropriate protocol in my training for maintaining and improving my mobility, muscular balance and movement patterns. 

Developed by The Prague School of Rehabilitation, in Prague, Czech Republic, DNS is based on the progression of an infant as they learn to move, control their limbs and body, roll, crawl, stand and walk.  

When we are born, we are programmed to progress through these milestones without assistance. All we need is plenty of time spent on the ground and we figure it out.  

I have had the added benefit of watching my second child go through this progression over the past nine months. While I have been re-learning to move my body, he is doing it naturally. This has helped me immensely having him lead by example. 

Ultimately, I am re-training my body to move in the correct way, establish greater neurological connection between body and brain and maintain these movement patterns forever. I have only scratched the surface of DNS but I have seen outstanding improvement in a relatively short time so I know it will be something that will be key to continuing to improve my athletic ability for years to come. 

The Diaphragm. 

The first thing I had to learn again was how to breathe. Seems simple but how many people understand the integral role of the diaphragm in breathing? I certainly didn’t. I only thought of my lungs and chest cavity and had no idea that it is the diaphragm which contracts to effectively draw the air into the lungs. 

One of the most prominent issues I had at the height of my physical dysfunction was having extraordinarily tight abdominal muscles. For so long I had been over using my abs to try and stabilise my body, particularly while I was swimming. I was under the false impression that I needed to remain tight through my abs in order to maintain alignment and allow my limbs to produce more force, whether it be in swimming, cycling, running or any other exercise. However, I didn’t know this was greatly restricting my movement overall and contributing to other parts of my body over-compensating and under-performing.  

The other integral role that the diaphragm plays is through creating intra-abdominal (internal) pressure or IAP. The best way to understand this is to practice ‘belly breathing.’ While sitting or lying down, as you breathe in, try and breathe deep into your belly (abdominal cavity). Essentially, your ribs shouldn’t need to move or expand much. Your diaphragm should be able to expand down into your belly to draw air into the lungs. This expands the abdominal cavity and creates IAP which provides stability for your abdominal region. This occurs most noticeably in babies. 

Also, you can create IAP by expanding your belly and trying to fill your abdominal cavity with pressure. Practice breathing in and out of your belly while holding this pressure. Do this the next time you are attempting a standard abdominal strength exercise instead of trying to tense and contract your abs.

That big belly look on babies is a lot to do with IAP. They don’t need their superficial abdominal muscles to contract in order to have a stable core region. Using IAP to stabilise the abdominal area doesn’t restrict your movement like when you tense your abdominal muscles. Instead, it still allows for freedom of movement and rotation around the axis of your spine which is critical to having good movement patterns.

There is so much to learn in this DNS space and I will endeavour to tell you more about my experience and progress with it in the future. To view some videos of a wide variety of DNS movements, please see the YouTube channel of Mark McGrath at 5D Movement. He is an expert in the field based in Melbourne.

Race Preparation

As I write this, it is just a few days out from the race. I am excited and feeling healthy. Being healthy at the start line is one of my main goals for this return to half ironman racing. In past years, I would not reach the event in a good physical state. I would do all the necessary hard work but not recover from it effectively so that I could put it to good use during the race. This resulted many times in suffering through the last half of the race physically, but more so, mentally as I wasn’t achieving what I expected.

Previously, I would believe it was essential to put in 10 – 15 hours of training per week across swimming, riding and running to have any chance of being competitive. Anything else, such as strength and conditioning or extra recovery protocols, was an afterthought and never prioritised. I practically never did a recovery session and if I did, it was never done at a low enough intensity to actually be considered recovery.

In comparison, over the past three months preparing for this event, I have not exceeded 7 hours of weekly training across swim, bike and run. I have done a lot of those hours at a very low intensity, a small portion at very high intensity and a smaller portion at half ironman race effort.

In conjunction with this training, I have performed anywhere from 3 – 7 hours per week of DNS. The great thing about DNS is I can do it almost anywhere, anytime, so it almost doesn’t factor in as extra time spent training. I might do multiple small portions throughout the day while at work or at home. I try to do some before most training sessions to activate my body and I will do at least half an hour of DNS as my warm up for this race.

Expectations

Ultimately, the race will tell me if my preparation has been effective. I am not expecting a personal best time because I have only prepared for three months but I believe I am in as good a shape as I would have been for most of my previous half ironman races. I believe this because I have traded over-training and excessive fatigue with possible under-training and feeling healthy.

I wouldn’t be surprised if I feel great all day and go as fast as I’ve ever gone. My personal best for the half ironman distance is 4 hours 25 minutes from Ironman 70.3 Shepparton, in November 2013. My personal best on the Geelong course from three attempts is 4 hours 42 minutes, 3 years ago. Alternatively, I wouldn’t be surprised if I finish in 4 hours 45 minutes and feel good the whole way. It’s likely, mainly due to the low run training miles, that I will find it difficult to maintain a strong pace throughout the entire half marathon but time will tell.

I haven’t done anywhere near as much swim, bike and run training in the lead up to this event as I did for those. Now, I am moving more freely and I feel more relaxed while doing them as opposed to using brute force to try and go fast. It is a liberating feeling as I realise how much more efficient I can be and how much better I can feel all of the time instead of a cloud of fatigue following me around.

Regardless of my finishing time or position on Sunday, I have come a long way in the past two and a half years to get to this race. I have learned some invaluable lessons and have a very bright outlook on what I can achieve in the future.

It’s going to be a good day, no matter what.