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.
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