A day late....but I'm on ISLAND TIME BRUH!

With Megan outside the King K

This week's blog is coming straight out of the King Kamehameha Hotel - the race venue of the Ironman World Champs!
Fortunately, since it only becomes swamped with Ironman athletes in race week, I got a great rate for this week for a twin queen room, which I am sharing with Megan Webber, another Aussie athlete.
I'd love to write this whole blog about the past 2 days! But first about the rest of the week.

Kind of taper - but not quite

I had a pretty standard Monday-Thursday in Melbourne. Lots of loose ends for work I had to TRY to tie up (of course there will still be a bit to do while I'm here, but I got most of it done). I always find this time before a race mentally tough. You're not quite into taper (I have NO problem backing right off once taper time comes) but you know you've done all the big stuff, and now it's just keeping the tank topped up, so to speak. 

That makes it hard for me - a couple of sessions this week were tough mentally, because I was so "on" for last weekend, I felt like "really? Do I have to? Can't I just chill now?" 

But the highlights were Wednesday's bike/run, where I went pretty well on the bike, despite the heavy legs, and followed with my best run off the Wednesday bike for several years. A huge boost. Also on Thursday in swim squad, I managed 6x200m leaving off a 3.15 cycle time. That was swimming on feet, but I've only managed that set once before, so I was really happy. 

Connecting with friends before leaving

The other real highlight before I left was catching up with 2 different sets of triathlon friends for breakfast the 2 mornings before I left. This sport has brought so many wonderful friendships into our lives, but for this prep, I haven't had many chances to hang out with those friends. It was lovely to catch up and get lots of good luck hugs from them all 😘

Getting to Kona

Some of the sights of Ironman, including the Banyan tree

Nothing could beat the nightmare journey we had in 2011, where we had to sleep at the gate in Melbourne and spend a night in Auckland! But a 3hr delay on Friday meant I missed my inter island flight to Kona and had another 4 hour wait in Honolulu. Luckily I met yet another nice triathlete, Lachlan Green and we had breakfast and waited together. I even squeezed in some compression in my boots at the airport, which I doubt I would have dared to do on my own! Strength in numbers! 

At least you don't really have jet lag coming here though. The time difference is only 3 hours, even though it is a day behind. I had a great night's sleep Friday, and Megan and I had a lovely ride to Waikoloa on Saturday. My run off the bike, albeit short, felt amazing. And then we had dinner cooked for us last night by a lovely guy, Matt who will be volunteering on race day. Arriving back in Kona, and just breathing in the beautiful Hawaiian Aloha makes my heart sing! I still pinch myself that I even made it here once, let alone for a third time. I'm soaking up all the sights, just like it was my first visit.

I won't write about my run this morning, as that's part of next week's story.......and it wasn't particularly pleasant in the heat!!

(Less than) 2 weeks to go

The week's numbers:

Escaping the cold and banking some solid hours

My injured chest almost became the focus of another week's blog. I had a big day of driving and research on Monday, but did no heavy lifting that could worsen the injury, so when I woke up on Tuesday it felt the best it had since I fell. I went to squad swimming and used a snorkel, at the back of the lane. It wasn't too bad for about 30min, and really that's when I should have got out. But I wanted to finish the session and get the damn green box on my training peaks chart. So I swam for the full 60min, and by the end of the session, was kicking myself as my intercostal was spasming again, and was seriously painful for the first half of my 60min run. 

I was so angry at myself for chasing a perfect record on my program, with the cost being a potentially longer healing time. I messaged Xavier, my coach and asked him to remove any time or distance specifics from my swims for the next week or so- I would still attempt the swims, but just not be stressed about "failing" because I hadn't done them to the exact specifications on my program. 

Wednesday, I had a cracking ride/run in the morning, followed by a second run in the afternoon. I did this second run from the pool, so I was there ready to attempt my evening swim. By now, the anxiety had really set in, to the point where I almost didn't start the swim, in case I made it worse, or the pain was too bad. Although things were improving, I still had pain when I breathed deeply. 

I'm glad I did swim. I treated it purely as a learning exercise. What could I do without too much pain? And what made things worse? I realised that the extra effort to breathe through a snorkel or when swimming single arm actually made things worse than when I swam normally, and that I was most comfortable (in fact pain free) when I swam without breathing! Not ideal, but that, and the fact I could do backstroke with no pain confirmed that the issue all lay in the rib/intercostal/pleura areas rather than my swimming muscles. 

But enough about my stupid injury for now. 

The other awesome thing that happened on Wednesday was that I was asked to speak to year 12 VCE sports science students about training for and racing Ironman triathlon. They were a really lovely group of kids. I told them about my story, from the beginning in 2005, when I couldn't swim further than 250m, through to the prep for this race. I shared some of my thoughts on training (consistency is key, above all else), group vs solo training, the principles of Training Peaks, heat acclimation and more. They listened intently and asked some really pertinent questions. Hopefully it will help to cement some of the theory they have been taught, for their exams. 

Thursday I was privileged enough to escape the cold of Melbourne, with a trip to Townsville, from where I am writing this.

Before I write anything about the training I did in Townsville, I have to mention the couple who went out of their way to make this a training camp like no other. Rikki Lee and her partner, Kim. Rikki raced Kona in 2015 with me, and despite not having the day she wanted there, will, I am certain go back and dispense a lot of justice on the Big Island. Rikki planned things around all my sessions so she could either train with me, give me routes to go on, or even ride alongside me and hand me water. Amazing. Meanwhile Kim, who was busy training herself had food on the table as soon as we'd finished training, and insisted I relax when I wasn't training! They have been absolutely wonderful to me. If karma is a real thing, I think Rikki will have a LOT in the bank for her next race! 

The last 3 days have been pretty huge,  - the massive positive I take from them is that I've had no end of energy, and the legs felt strong in every session. 

Following a 3.5 hour ride on Friday, a 5.5 hour ride Saturday (with the toughest climb I have ever done - harder than the Back of Falls), I managed to average 5.32/km for my 30 km run in the heat on Sunday. I was really happy with that. There were too many amazing highlights during the Townsville sessions to recount them all here, but a selection of pictures below sum them up. 

With another big ride tomorrow, the weekend will have given my fitness a huge boost. It's also given me the chance to work on my hydration. I didn't drink nearly enough in the race in Cebu, so I've really worked on taking in more fluid during this trip. I set an alarm on my Garmin for every mile on my run (the distance between aid stations in Kona) and I took water and salt after every alarm.

Unfortunately the big ride (and climb) on Saturday must have hurt my chest, as today it was seriously painful for every breath of my 2h 45min run. I was so disappointed that such a wonderful, beautiful run could be spoiled by constant pain like that. I also felt bad because Rikki drove into town and rode alongside me for my last 30 minutes. I was pretty quiet (except when I was swearing about the chest!) but Rikki kept chatting away regardless. 

The great news is that after I'd written the paragraph above, I went with Rikki to swim in yet another gorgeous pool up here. To my amazement (and joy!) there was NO PAIN WHATSOEVER for the whole 2.5km swim, and my pace wasn't too far off what it would normally be on a Sunday. Of course shouting "I'M BAAAAACK!" to Rikki hurt like hell! 

4 weeks to go

The week's stats

Back to reality - ouch!

Following last Sunday's race, I had a 90min ride, 20min run and 30min swim scheduled for Monday. I was amazed at how good I felt. A really strong sign that I'm tracking well for Kona, and something I need to remind myself of when I get anxious about what I can (or can't) do this week (see later).

Trying a bit of SUP post-race

I flew back from the Phillipines on Tuesday, landed 11.30am Wednesday, got home, repacked and drove the 250km up north to Dookie, where I was supervising final year vet students on their dairy selective. I am a bit paranoid about losing all the gains I've made on my swim, so I stopped off at Shepparton (35min from Dookie) and squeezed in a quick session. I was wrecked by the time I went to bed on Wednesday night (I only caught about 4hrs sleep on the flight Tuesday night) but at least I slept really well that night; something I don't always do in a strange bed.

At the top of Mt Major (200m climb) looking down at Dookie College

A couple of easy runs Thursday and Friday morning, and another swim after my drive back on Friday night, and I wondered how I would fare through my weekend sessions. 

I was pleasantly surprised! I started out feeling lousy on my 4hr hill ride, but started up the 1:20 (a 7km climb, yes it's 5% as the name suggests!) and soon I realised I was pushing 200W fairly comfortably. I had coffee then rode back with some of the Melbourne Tri club crew, and managed to hold on pretty well. My long hill run this morning wasn't quick, but I felt ok, given the week I've had, and that it is only 7 days post race. Our usual Sunday swim went ok too - we do all-out sprints for 10-16 strokes with loads of recovery in between, and I know if I'm really fatigued as the arms don't turn over as fast. Today was a good one.

I'm heading back to Dookie again tomorrow morning, and I've had lots of feelings of anxiety about how it will compromise my training/recovery. I had a week of taper, then the race in Cebu, then a recovery week, and next week I will probably only be able to get to the pool in Shepparton once (I usually swim Tues, Wed, Thur and Friday). I will drop into the pool again next Friday, but I guess I feel like I will have had 3 less-than-consistent weeks. And consistency is key. But work has to be done too, and I derive so much joy from seeing passionate students learning more about my area of vet science, that I know it will be worth it. And I need to remind myself of a) all the work I have done, and how fit I already am; b) that 9 weeks is still a long time, and I am better off DYING to get back to consistent big training weeks, than being over it; and c) On race day, it's not just what your body can do, but what your mind and mental strength bring to the table. And last week proved that, while I can still do work on that (we all can), I have nothing to be anxious about.

Tonight, we are going out to dinner to celebrate the launch of our new business, BOXSUPP (link below)
Link to BOXSUPP website
This is Pete's idea, but we will both be working on it together, something I am so excited about. The concept is brilliant - your daily vitamins and supplements are in one pack (instead of a cupboard full of containers) and you have a month's supply in your box. Our hope/ dream is that this business will be successful enough that it will make us more mobile, and we can choose where we live in the next few years. Not that we don't love Melbourne (especially on a sunny day like today!) but winters in Queensland certainly appeal :)

BOXSUPP - our future

9 weeks to go
This week's numbers - The bonus open water swims in Cebu bumped up the swim volume!!

Camp and camaraderie

This week finished really well, but I was quite flat Monday and Tuesday after the hard bike session and XC run last Saturday. On top of that I had a pretty hectic work week, with 3 trips to Werribee for teaching. I usually try to limit my days out there to 2 for the week, or I fit in a ride commute around one of the days, which makes my schedule way more efficient. I really admire people who drive for a living - it exhausts me! Friday was crazy - we got our swim done (I managed a 16.27 for one of my 1k efforts, which is a PB), then a quick turnaround so I could drive the 50min out to Werribee to do a tutorial, drive back, meet Pete (who had packed the car), drive to do our movement session with Richard Sekesan (more on that later) and then straight down to Lorne for the MTC/Fluid winter training camp. Pete dropped me 20km short with my bike so I could do my 1hr ride. I was exhausted when I got there, but we also fitted in a sauna session, to help with our heat acclimation for Cebu next weekend.

A great weekend in Lorne with tri friends

It was awesome to be able to go away, though with a huge group of our tri friends. I love this sport for the friendships it has brought me, and it's always so inspiring to spend a weekend training (and having a couple of wines) with like-minded people. Camaraderie at its very best.

I've had incredibly mixed experiences at club training camps though - all due to the way I have approached them. In the past, I've ended up in tears, or completely demoralised if I've gone to a camp, wanting to ride or run with the group, then found myself out at the back. As an Ironman athlete, in the middle of a prep, I will rarely be in a position to be able to hang with the faster athletes in a group.

Running at my own pace and enjoying the rainbow

Fortunately with many years' experience I have way more perspective on this. I'd dearly love to have more company when I'm training, but going into a weekend like this knowing that I'll actually be training solo is way better than killing myself to keep up and paying for it days later. I can always socialise at dinner or brunch once the session is done.

I definitely wanted to be conservative this weekend. I have the shortest taper I've ever had into a 70.3 race this week. Usually if it were an "A" race, I'd taper at least 12-14 days out, but this was a full week of training. I have a complete rest day tomorrow though - hurray! It will be interesting to see how I go in Cebu. With the conditions being as hot as any race I will have done, it will certainly come down to aerobic fitness and heat management, rather than the top few % of speed. And with Kona only 11 weeks away, I couldn't really afford a complete taper (and then recovery) for a 70.3. I'm confident my swim and bike should be really strong, and the fitness is probably there for a fairly decent run. 

But mostly I'm looking forward to another trip to the warmth, and a bit of down time. I specifically chose a race that was a decent time out from Kona, so I could enjoy racing it and have a mini holiday alongside (even if that is only a couple of days). 

Before I finish, just a note on the movement coaching we've been doing. Richard Sekesan is a 10-time Ironman finisher himself, and was a PT but became fascinated by gymnastics and movement a few years ago. He has an amazing approach to strength and conditioning, and Peter and I have been going to see him for a couple of months. I have done yoga for many years, and I think that helped my core strength and flexibility, but it is very single-plane focused (the same plane as swim/bike/run) Richard is teaching us to use and move our bodies with more awareness and I think this will be really beneficial for us. I find it hard to schedule his "homework" though. Pete is super-disciplined and gets up 20-30min early to do it before training. I'm not a morning person at the best of times! So my goal from this week onward is to schedule some time every day to doing these important exercises. To see more of some of the amazing stuff Richard does - here's his Instagram page http://instagram.com/swimbikeruneatsleep

This week has gone so quickly! I can't believe that in 7 days I'll be in Cebu writing my next blog, post-race. Bring it on! 

Training this week: 

11weeks to go.

12 weeks to Hawaii Ironman World Champs - Survival

One of the pleasures of my previous two races in Kona was writing my "12 weeks to Hawaii" blogs. The first focused mostly on the weekly training, volume, hours etc. Link here:
12 weeks to Hawaii - the first blog

The second, on my build up to the 2015 race was a lot more reflective of my thoughts and feelings about the build up to the race. Link here:

12 weeks to Hawaii - the return!

I guess this blog will be a combination of the two - my biggest view ever was my "Top tips for success in Ironman....for age group triathletes". So I guess that's the kind of thing people like to read (not that I think I'm much of an authority!)

So, where am I with my prep? And why the heading of this blog?

Physical state

Physically - I think I'm in a better place than ever before, regarding my swimming and cycling. I met with my coach, Xavier after IMNZ and he said he wanted to make sure my levels of enthusiasm for training (which were obviously pretty high, post race) didn't gradually decline all winter. So we planned to load up the bike kms while the weather was ok, and keep the running-induced fatigue low early on.

Training in Noosa

 I've been lucky enough to take a couple of trips to warmer climes too. We flew up to Cairns in June, coinciding with the Ironman up there, where some athletes were racing on our Wheelscience wheels and I did a big few days on the bike/swim, then I had a week up in Noosa in early July. What an incredible experience, to train like a pro! I have seen some huge improvements in my swimming, and fitness in general (eg resting heart rate) as a result of that week.
My running has a fair way to go (but hey, 12 weeks is a long time!) I've had some positive signs that it's on the improve, like a couple of my runs off the bike. But I gained a LOAD of weight after IMNZ, (which I raced at the heaviest of any of my Ironmans anyway). I refuse to starve myself though - I am very much focused on recovery and how I feel, rather than what I look like, and numbers on the scales. But, there's no denying that run performance is inversely correlated to weight, and unless you can do a lot of speed work to get those bigger legs firing, the excess kgs will cost. They are coming off slowly though, and while I know that I don't want to be racing in the heat of Kona carrying too much extra weight, my "ideal race weight" for the race that I want over there, may be very different from previous years, if my current swim and bike numbers are anything to go by.

Mental state

From the training perspective, I'm in a great place. I utterly detest riding indoors on the windtrainer, but we are having some really bad weather in Melbourne, and I am persuading myself that the indoor sessions in a heated room (it's often 30C by the time we've done the session and steamed it up!) will really help with our next race on 6th August (Cebu 70.3 in the Philippines) . Also, remember I am married to an Ironman athlete who would LOVE to get to Kona - that's a good reminder that I chose to take the slot, and I'm extremely fortunate to be having a third crack at it.


But the biggest risk to my training, recovery (and I believe weight loss) are the other stressors I allow to impact me. I have had a lot of stress at work the last year or so. I am on a fixed - term part time contract, and although there was an opportunity to apply for a full time permanent role, I chose not to, as I believe it would have severely limited other aspects of my job, and life in general. Of course this decision has left me having to fight to keep some kind of a job in teaching, and scrabbling to find research funding. I also had the culmination of a huge, 2-year research project at the end of June - a pretty stressful few weeks as I tried to write up the final report! But I love the work I do, and I still think the stress is worth it, when I find new answers in my research, or a student tells me I have inspired them (and I don't mean athletically!)

Larger-than-life Travis "happy" Tremayne with me in Kona in 2013

And now on to the "Survival" aspect of the blog title. In the past month, we have learned that 3 very close friends have had serious illnesses. This threw me into a huge turmoil, emotionally. I am talking about 3 healthy, fit people here, all in their 40s, all with life-threatening illnesses. It made me question a lot about my life, and my approach to it. Ambition in my career - why? Goals in triathlon - why? Being organised, and planning every day of our lives - why? I have seriously questioned the point of any of it. And yet, the ironic thing is that I believe all 3 of these amazing people would not for a second question those things. They are all ambitious, driven go-getters who grab life by the balls, and make every day count. Which makes it suck even more that they should be dealt these health blows. The other thing that really stands out when I read their stories or talk to them is the will to survive. And hence the word in the title, Survival. We talk about it flippantly as athletes "oh, by the last 5km, it was just survival". No it's not. What our friends are doing - having surgeries, radiotherapy, taking meds. THAT's survival. And I will remember that when times get tough in the coming months, and in Kona itself. They, and others struggling with their health will inspire me. And I don't want to sound like I'm complaining about the emotional stress their news has caused me. I'd happily take that on board if it meant I could in some way help their recovery.

The week's totals, for the numbers geeks! : 12 weeks to go