Wellington Contact Triathlon Race Report

It’s Funny How Things Work Out!



The Great Arthur Lydiard



I spent the best part of a year training for the NZ Ironman, focusing on a slow and consistent pace which incidentally led to my fastest Olympic Distance Triathlon and landed me a spot on the New Zealand Triathlon team.  Maybe that ‘Kiwi’ guy, Arthur Lydiard was on to something.

The big question for me was, ‘How do I recover from a half ironman in 5 days???’  I came up with, CCCD - (Chocolate – AKA Easter Eggs, Coca Cola, Compression tights and lots of Deep Heat), rest was a given.

I had a very easy week and didn’t start easing into exercise until Thursday morning which consisted of a 5 x 100m swim followed by 100m of aqua jogging.  In the afternoon I went for an easy 45min spin on my road bike.  Friday, repeated Thursday’s pool session and in the afternoon a 15min spin followed by a 15min jog.

Saturday morning (race day), the weather Gods decided to come to the party and everyone woke to a still calm day, the harbour could have been mistaken for a mirror.  It’s true what they say, “nothing beats Wellington on a good day!”

 

I arrived at the transition nice and early, racked my bike and headed back to my car to ‘suit up.’  As the competitors were putting their wetsuits on, the announcer informed us that the water was a fresh 13 degrees.  I don’t know where they took their reading but thankfully the sea felt a lot warmer than that.

Age groups went off in 5 min intervals. As usual, I was on the FAR right.  I don’t know what happened in the bunch, but I had a clean swim and made sure I was aiming for the correct buoys.  Dear I say it, I was actually enjoying the swim until about 100m from the finish when someone’s heel collided with my eye.  Luckily my goggles took the impact and stayed on.

Transition was smooth with no one in my way.  On the bike, it was business as usual, to make up for lost time during the swim.  There were two guys willing to push the pace with me until we caught our age group’s front bunch.  It seemed people were happy to sit on BUT not let anyone ride away.  The bike ride felt like a PNP road race.  A few of us even caught the lead bunch from the age group that started 5 minutes before us which had Luke in it.  Luke and I prefer cycling to running and the last thing we wanted was for a big bunch to arrive at T2 together because we knew it would then come down to a running race and no one wants that!  

The bunch got whittled down to about 10 of us from 4 different age groups (25 – 29, 30-34, 35-39 & 40 – 44) as we rolled into T2.  Putting on tight socks was a mistake as I was easily the last person out of transition.

On the run, I was feeling good and knew I had to limit how many people in my age group passed me.  There seemed to be quite a few and unfortunately, I had no control over how fast they could run.  At the 7.5km mark, Luke shouted out some words of encouragement and something went off in my head.  I knew I could run faster than I had been and survive the last 2.5km so I went for it.  The finish line couldn’t come soon enough! Only one other guy in my age group passed me on the way back (he ran 36min)!

The big question was, was I still in contention of qualifying to make the worlds team?

At the finishing area it was great talking to people from all over New Zealand and hearing how their races went.  One guy did mention how rough the roads were around the bays – you mean there are roads out there that don’t have potholes every couple of hundred metres?



Since I had a few hours to kill, I went home, packed away my TT bike and dusted off the mountain bike which I’ll need for the Porirua Grand Traverse in a few weeks.

4 o’clock finally rolled round and it was time to see if I made the team.  There, in the last slot for my age group was my name. 



Arthur Lydiard and Peter Snell

In the finish, it was my run that got me there, 10km in 40.16.  I don’t really understand the science of how I was able to run that fast (fast for me and by far a P.B) without doing any speed work, but I will certainly be spending some more time researching Arthur Lydiard’s training principles, they work!!!!

2012 Ironman Race Report

It all came down to a few seconds …

	Overall Time	Swim	T1	Bike	T2	Run	1st 5km avg	2nd 5kms avg	3rd 5kms avg	Last 6km avg	Overall Run avg
Andy	4:41:09	35:25	7:38	2:32:44	1:32	1:23:50	4:11	3:58	4:04	3:43	3:58
Susie	4:41:33	33:18	4:06	2:25:23	1:09	1:37:37	4:41	4:36	4:52	4:22	4:37
Ed	4:41:40	34:04	5:20	2:23:36	2:29	1:36:11	4:48	4:35	4:39	4:15	4:33

Where to start?

I could easily write a blog entry about the weather – a ‘weather bomb’ cancelled the full Ironman race on Saturday and the organisers held a half Ironman on Sunday.

I could also easily write about the emotions I went through, from the highs of going through registration and getting my number on Thursday to the lows of hearing the race was cancelled.  Sunday morning I woke and just wanted the weekend to be over as all my eggs had been in the ‘long slow distance’ basket and having to race a half didn’t excite me, very similar to one Mr Cameron Brown!

The key difference between this half, and other halves in NZ, is that this one was offering Kona tickets!!!!!

On race morning I went through the motions, got ready and racked my bike then headed down to the lake. 

The Swim – I don’t know what to say, I used to pride my self on my navigation skills, well not any more! I have been on the start line of the swim 9 times (5 halves and 4 Ironman races) and I have never ever been so disorientated.

I swam 1km out with the bunch on my left, turned at the two buoys and was swimming back to the start line when BANG, my bunch collided with a bunch of women swimming the other way!!!  To put that into perspective, there was a 70 gap of ‘no mans land’ so I can only assume that since the women had a kayaker guiding them, we swam 70m off course. 

Mental note; next time, follow the buoys and not the bunch.

The Bike – I’ll be honest, the ride was chaos too, as we all knew it would be. The organisers had even pleaded with the 1600 athletes not to ride in bunches, YEAH RIGHT!

Once on my bike, I figured, it’s only 90km so I’d go pretty hard right from the start.  Going out was fine, a guy was following me, then we teamed up and we began jumping bunches until one bunch wouldn’t let us go.  The strange thing was, people wanted to be at the front but they had no urgency to keep making up places or catching bunches up the road.  On the way back our group got whittled down to about 10.  A few times the marshals pulled up beside us and warned us to keep our 7m distance which I thought was the correct thing to do.

It’s really hard to keep the 7m gap in a large bunch because once the leader slows down, everyone bunches up.  At about the 60km mark, a guy in our bunch was pinged for drafting   He was 2^nd in line while I was 7m directly behind him.  Admittedly, he was wheel hugging going up a slight rise, but what would have really upset the guy was all the MASSIVE bunches going the other way riding two abreast!  CRAZY!

I rolled into town with a few of the leaders from our bunch, had a pretty quick T2 for me and set off on the run. 

The Run – energy wise I felt great and I ran the first kilometre in 4mins!!! I had trained for 5min kms so I thought it wise to back off a little.  I caught a guy from our bunch and started talking to him.  Turns out he was Deano Gaskin, one of, if not the best Ironman athlete in my age group and he is from Wellington.  It must have looked funny as we were running along chatting as if we were on a training run.  He was recovering from a calf injury (runs a sub 3hr Ironman marathon) while I was happy to be in the company of such a great athlete with every 2^nd spectator cheering him on.  What it must feel like to be a famous athlete?

I stayed with him until just over half way when a mate of his ran passed so he carried on with him.  Shortly after the 15km turn around,  Andy and I caught sight of each other and smiled, as we both knew he had just over 5kms to catch me.  I dug deep and even got cheered on by a few athletes I passed.  In the end,  Andy passed me with about 500m to go, all I could do was wish him well.

In the medical tent, Andy was sitting down with an ice pack on his head. Turns out he got stung in the head by a bee as he was running down the finishing chute. Unfortunately, Andy is allergic to bee stings, some may say it was karma for passing me so close to the end, I say it was just bad luck.  Were the 31 seconds worth it Andy?  ;)

After he got stretchered off, an old friend Susie crossed the line and collapsed in the arms of two people.   That's how champions race. Turns out I got ‘CHICKED’ by 7 seconds!!!

Overall, I can walk away from this race happy and confident that the operation and all the physio work has been well worth it.  My 1.36hr half marathon was a great confidence booster.
Dear I say it, bring on next year!!!

6 sleeps to go!!!!

The last few weeks of rest were mentally hard as I was constantly tired but I know from previous years, once I got going again everything would be okay.  The Vet’s time trial on Wednesday was cancelled due to bad weather so I had to wait until Thursday to start training.  With the wind blowing a gale I could have easily stayed home Thursday night but thought I’d test my theory that I’d feel better after having done some exercise.  I had a fantastic ride through the valley and back again, almost clocking P.Bs both ways. 

The rest of the week was spent thinking about my race plan or strategies to deal with the day.

In 'Going Long' (Friel & Byrn, 2003) they say

"Ironman is a test of how much patience you are prepared to exercise" and quote Cameron Brown, the Ironman marathon is "Twenty miles of hope and six mile of reality" and say the race doesn't start until the 30km marker on the run.

Some of the analogies I know:

It’s better to be 10% undertrained than 1% over trained.

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time and that’s the key to Ironman, one stroke / one revolution / one step at a time.

Don’t burn all your matches at once.  Matches = efforts and you can only put in so many efforts.  The smart athlete will save most of their matches for the later part of the day.

The trick to having a good race is to think of your energy as a full tank of gas, you want to get as far as possible as economically as possible.

Today, Andy and I biked down to Lower Hutt to get our bikes and helmets checked.  It's great to be this organised, hope the rest of the week goes to plan.

Two Weeks Out And Feeling Like SH#*

Four Weeks Out was a new high for me. I was able to get in 8 1/2 hours of running.

Monday - I ran up the Akas for 18km, 2km passed Staglands and back. It's a beautiful run and one I hope to do more often. While training for an ultra marathon, Andy ran to the top of the Akas so the challenge has been set for me to give it a go.

Tuesday - Rest

Wednesday - Vets 24km TT, good to have a blow out, interestingly my time was slower than last week when I was on my training bike. I wonder if my setup has something to do with it?

Thursday - Rest

Friday - Rest

Saturday - Andy and I did two laps of Lake Wairarapa in race gear, thankfully the wind stayed to a head and tail wind. I'm struggling to nail my nutrition, on paper Perpeptum should work for me but it doesn't or I need to figure how to get a few more calories in. 

Sunday - My favourite run is up the dam and down Cannon Point Zig Zag. Today was all about building confidence so I did it 4 times!!!!

Interestingly, last year I didn't run the month before Ironman, the thought was it would allow my calves to decompress. Anyway, my last big run in January 2011 was 3 laps of the dam in 3hrs and during 2011's race I was able to run for 3 hrs.

Three Weeks Out was all about rest.

I thought having a week off would be good, turns out, completely stopping isn't a great idea. Thursday morning as I was rolling out of bed my back locked up. I suspect it was due to tight hamstrings. In hindsight, I should have been stretching all week.

Two Weeks Out and I'm still resting, will give the Vets TT another go and play the rest of the week by ear.

Too FUNNY!!!!!

The Cycling one



The Triathlete one

Dealing With Demons

Going into Ironman, I know I have a few demons to deal with.

Swim:

I start too hard and end up hyperventilating causing me to slow down to regain my composure. 

Goal - to start slow and ease into it.

Training - I am training to be stronger for the 2nd half of the swim.

Bike:

Again, going too hard early and smashing my quads. 

Goal - To keep my watts low and steady.

Training -  Last Wednesday I attempted the Pahiatua Loop (over the Rimutakas, up to Pahiatua, over the pass, down the coast to Waikanae and back over the Akatarawas.  Due to a broken spoke and a tyre blowing out, I only got as far as Waikanae.  I learnt that I can easily hold 225 watts for 8hrs or 240kms and my nutrition is on the right track.

Run:

Running!  After years of having to walk home due to my calves locking up, it's hard to train for something that has been physically impossible for 3 years.  I thought after my operation I would somehow be this amazing runner.  Someone forgot to tell me that I’d still need to put in A LOT of hours teaching the dormant muscles to work and getting my legs used to running again. 

Goal - To be able to run more than 30kms (that's how far I ran last year)
Training - Before I had compartment syndrome my favourite run was to Staglands and back.  I’ve always thought that once I could achieve this again, then I'd be well on the road to recovery.

 About two weeks ago I knocked the bugger off! 

I started slow and made it to Staglands.  It was easy to run 16km one way.  Once I stopped for a snack I realised just how tired my legs were and I still had to run out!  Despite having the Ironman shuffle, I managed to run the whole way out - and have a week off running.

Same Ride, One Year On.

A few years back Matt and I biked over the Akatarawa's and for some reason we decided to climb up the other side 6 times.  There's no rhyme or reason for 6 times, it's just a challenging number
physically and mentally.  Last year Andy and I did it and sadly I blew my lights on the 6^th climb.  Andy had prior commitments and I didn’t see any point in him hanging around so he left.  I sat at the top for an easy 30 minutes, eating and drinking everything I had.  Once I got my second wind I coasted down to Staglands where I bought a coke and a scone.  Sitting in the sun, I waited for my third wind and then crawled out of the Akatarawa's.

Going into this ride the thought of last year was fresh on my mind and my goal was not to blow.

	2011		2012
	Time	Watts	Time	Watts
Hill repeat 1	24.37	268	24.10	272
Hill repeat 2	24.23	271	23.04	285
Hill repeat 3	23.30	279	21.55	298
Hill repeat 4	23.08	286	22.15	301
Hill repeat 5	23.23	281	21.41	305
Hill repeat 6	28.11	228	23.18	281

Looking at my times, it certainly helped being able to chase Andy.