Australian Ironman 2009 - My Learning experience

Australian Ironman
Pt Macquarie 2009.


So I have come off some interesting results.
WA Ironman saw me pull in a 10 minute PB although an ITB issue put the breaks on at around 8 k’s into the run so a 11hr:14 min was the end result – Yes a PB but not what I was aiming for.
Off to Geelong for the 70.3 and for me, I was able to put in a really solid race with a 12 minute PB and a time of 4:47.

So now I’ve headed to Pt Macquarie with the family in toe to compete in the 2009 Australian Ironman.
My training has been solid and I have really focused on losing weight. My final weigh in came in at 71.3. This is the lightest that I have been in a very long time.

In the lead up to the race, Northern NSW has been flooded with Pt Mac recording 70mm on both Wednesday & Thursday (Coffs Harbour which is North of Pt Mac had recorded 660mm in a 24hr period and was then declared a Natural disaster zone by the state government)

The rain had made the few days prior to the race a little difficult to train as most of my training was swimming. The Hastings river was brown and with all the fresh water being flushed into the river, there was NO salt in the water at all – Just lots of sticks and rubbish.
So I missed my swimming until Friday (only a 15 minute swim) and then on the Saturday with Coach, Deb, Gavin, Big Boy and the rest of the ETPA (http://www.etpa.com.au/) crew. We swam for about 25 minutes in total with a few 100 mtr efforts to blow out the cobwebs.

Mentally, I’m feeling well. I’m not as nervous as I have been and I’m just enjoying myself this time with Jess & Oskar.
So with daylight saving changing and giving us all and extra hours sleep, it’s sure to be a nice night prior to the race …. Mmmmmm, not really. Boy did it rain, and rain and rain!!

SO the morning of the race comes and Mat, Big Boy & I head down to transition and all is good. My trusty rig has survived to rain well as I have placed my crank and cassette cover on the day before so that no mud or addition water would get into the vital components.
I kindly help out the fella next to me as it was his first IM and I could see that he was quite nervous (just like I was). I help him out with some tape, a plastic bag as he forgot to place his ridding top in his T1 bag, some last minute lube for his chain etc.

From there, I catch up with the lads and wait around for a while as this year the pro’s have a 35 minute head start on us standard age groupers. So off they go and I haven’t even got my over sized wetsuit on yet.
I get my wetsuit on and walk down to the swim start and say my goodbyes. Into the water I go and do a couple of 20 mtr efforts so try to get the blood pumping into the arms and shoulders. This year I have a white cap on which is second in order of expected swim times with Blue being first. I see a fella that I met the other day who is a Tri coach from Spain (his English isn’t too good – but a lot better than my Spanish …. Duo polo perfervour … 2 chickens please!!!)
I wish him good luck and he has a fantastic reply ….. “The only people that need luck are those that don’t know what they are doing and really bad bull fighters” imagine that in broken English with a Spanish twist …. It was gold.

So the race:
The cannon goes off and we are away. As normal, the first 300 – 500 mtrs is a free for all and anything goes. Naturally there were a lot of arms and legs going everywhere and I copped my fair share. Other than that, like most swim’s it was the first part of what was to be an eventful day.
As I get out of the water, the clock say’s 1:11 … Mmmmmm not good as Busso was 1:03 and I have been on the improvement in my training. Never mind .....
Into T1 and through the mud, I get changed and grab my bike …. So far so good.
I get about 1 minute into the ride and I lose my Jetstream “yellow filter” when I hit a small bump in the road.
I get through the hills on Pacific Drive , down Mathew Flinders and out on to the flat. By this time, my legs are starting to warm up and I’m feeling good. I start to count the in lots of 5 the people that I catch …. And I was doing this quite well. The first lap was good and I was now in a rhythm. Off I go again for lap 2 and again I’m picking off a few. As I get back to Mathew Flinders I’m half way up the climb and “Bang” my rear hub has disengaged and I had to quickly unclip so that I didn’t fall and run with my bike to the top of the hill. I quickly “played around with my pedals and the hub seems to re engage and off I go. Back into town through the rolling hills and no problems at all. So the final lap is on and my legs are still feeling good and no issues at all. From memory, I was on track for a 5hr 20ish ride and that was right on the money for me.
Out and back and all is good until I hit Mathew Flinders for the last time. Once again, I’m half way up the climb and I have just got out of the saddle to drive over the top and “BANG” …. Phuck …. Its happened again. My pedals where spinning but the rear wheel was staying put! Phuck this …. I’ll have to dismount and do the same as the last lap …. Well this time its a lot worse. Nothing I could do would fix this issue so I start walking with my bike towards the Pacific Hwy with some hope that the Shimarno mechanics will come past. So I start running with my bike, then walking, then running but no sign of help. I must say, I had plenty of people and fellow athletes ask if I was alright and if they could help. My general reply was .. “do you have a spare bike?” with an attempted smile on my face. 40 minutes later I'm back on my way!!!
I finally roll back into transition, grab my T 2 bag, get changed and off I go into the run however my head still wasn’t where it needed to be! (which isn’t the right thing as there are a lot of people who would have had bigger issues than me)
The run was reasonably uneventful Plenty of encouragement was coming from the spectators. I was looking for my good mate Chappo and I did see him on the ride in the lead AG pack. I then see him on the run course and the lad is moving very well. I give him the “push Chappo …. Your looking strong” he actually replies with “your looking strong too KP” …. Who me??? Typical Chappo …. Always giving a positive message …. That’s the sort of fella he is. While we are on Chappo (Trent Chapman), he goes on to finish 8th over all …. Yes, over all. He beat guys like Mitch Anderson & Jason Shortis (9th & 10th respectively).
So I’m still plodding on and I finally finish in a time of 11:47. This is about 30 minutes slower than Busso and definitely NOT what I wanted.
HOWEVER – I did FINISH and I need to be proud of that …. And I am J
The day after says a lot. I’m not sore as I have been (it’s more like the soreness of a Half Ironman) after an Ironman so I can tell that I didn’t push myself in the run at all. This was all in my head!
So at the Kona roll down I saw Anthony from CBD cycles. I went up to him with a smile on my face and said “ I have a cheap set of gravity zero’s …do you want them?” He looked at me and just turned his head away from me …. He was sitting with the two fella’s that my mate Chappo beat! I guess I wasn’t good enough to be in their / his company!
What did I learn from this experience?

CBD CYCLES will never see me again nor will I recommend them to any fellow athletes, family or friends. This falls on the back on the way they treated Komo when he was in the market to purchase a road bike. After purchasing many bikes from them, they wouldn’t even let Komo take a bike out on a test ride! What are they thinking. I’m sure that our cash is the same as the “super fast” athletes.
So I will be staying away from them …..
I have since been to meet the guys at CYCLESPEED (http://www.cyclespeed.com.au/ ) and they are now looking after me and my new rig is about to be ordered.
Andrew at cyclespeed (who I have never met before) greeted me with “How you going mate – do you want a coffee”
Well F&*k me …. This is the first time that any store owner / worker has offered me a coffee … so he had me straight away J.
And after the coffee, he treated me like a normal person ....... and thats all I want.
So what are the key take outs from the experience
Continue to trust your coach. I know Mat (ETPA) is getting me fit and strong and I’m just around the corner from doing something personally special.
Take this race as a great learning experience. Not everything goes to plan and you need to deal with it and trust yourself.

I do want to thank Mat, Komo, Jimmy M, Big Boy,Jimmy D, Ronny Z, Pistol & Archie for their help in training between WA & Pt Mac. This was the first time that the local crew haven’t done Pt Mac so I was on my own for a while. These guys all chipped in and offered training help & support when they could …… and it was awesome.

I now have to work out what I want / need to do over the winter. Do I look at Japan IM? Maybe Busso Half? What about the Melbourne marathon? There is plenty of options! Well I have the Easter long weekend to think about a few of the closer races and discuss them with Jessica.

Speaking of Jessica, she once again has been a rock. She continues to support me 110% and that make all the difference. She also does this while being the best mum in the world to our champion little fella Oskar Marley …. He rocks too J. She knows that doing this makes me happy and keeps me fit & healthy so that I can be as good a partner to her & father to Oskar as I can be …… and this is the most important thing in the world to me.

So now to enjoy the Easter break with my family & friends

KP

"WHY IRONMAN?"

I’m sure that those in the sport of Ironman Triathlon get asked the same question over & over …. “Why?”
For me, the answer is that this is a sport that allows anyone to compete and in quite a few cases (other than Kona where you need to qualify) to race with and against the best in the world. At Geelong 70.3, we all raced with Craig Alexander who is the current Ironman world champion and also held the world title over the Half Ironman distance – What a thrill to see this machine in action!!!
Ironman for me not only has helped me get my health & fitness back after many years of treating my body like the town circus, it has also helped me “calm down” and look at many things in a different light. The most important thing being my family (which at time I took for granted). I have met so many great people out of Triathlon and people with so many experiences to call on for help / knowledge when needed.
So in 3 weeks time, I head to Pt Macquarie with my family (Jess & Oskar) in tow to compete in my 3rd Australian Ironman and 4th IM over all. Naturally the goal is to have a PB in each leg and do the best I can – yes I have a few personal goals that I have set and will let you in on at my post race review ;)
This preparation has been solid with more of a run focus and on a personal note, I have been extremely focused on losing as much of the unwanted kilos as possible J Currently I’m sitting comfortably at 72.3 kgs (last weekend I weighted in at 71.3) and with a strong & focused mind I can loose another 1 -1.5 kgs over the next 2 weeks and hit to 70 kg mark. This will then see me the lightest I have been for an Ironman or Half Ironman race and hopefully a quicker timeJ. Yes I know that hard training is the key and I can say that I have ticked the box on what the coach has presented me with in the lead up to IM.
Tomorrow will be another solid 7.5 hr day. This will cap off all the long miles that I have been doing and tomorrow is all about quality. Flick the focus switch and put the hard work down and enjoy the experience.
From there, it will be more about fast work, short and sharp while not getting injured or sick.
So for now, a little rest then play with Jnr for a while!
Stay tuned.

WA Ironman 2008

So it starts like this. The biggest ETPA crew heads to WA to have a crack at the Ironman. A few first timers at IM and a few that have done them before. But don't be fooled by the first timers - these boys move fast! For me, I'm looking for a PB in all legs of the race. I'm feeling good in the water compared to previous races and the bike course is quick which will help due to the limited riding compared to my last race. As for the run, I have been doing a lot more running and I'm starting to feel good.

In the couple of days leading up to the race I was so nervous - more than any other race!

So to the start line we head. The swim is an out and back along the Busso jetty - yep one long jetty!!!

After all the official hoo haa the gun goes off and we are away. As it’s a straight swim it’s a bit messy for a while with lots of banging and crashing going on! I was nice and polite and moved out of the way of those who lost their GSP - I don't think so - I gave as good as I got ;). Half way out it cleared up and there was some clear water and I found a rhythm. Heading back in was quite relaxing and I tried to concentrate on what little technique that I have J As I got out of the water, the clock said 1:03:30 - that's a PB in the swim and I’m happy with that - two more to go! Into T 1 and relaxed I was. Took my time then out I went on the 180 k ride. I found a rhythm straight away and shortly after I caught up with Greer from WSTC. We legally rode together for just about the entire trip. At about 50 odd K’s Jimmy M joined in for the ride and once again we worked together. I thought to myself, G knows what she's doing and the speed was what I had planned to do so let’s be smart and bank some pennies for the run. Not much else to report on the ride as it’s flat and boring! Into T 2 I went in with Greer and Benny R and the both got out before me as I changed out of my race suit into a singlet and running knicks. Off I went for a 42.2 k run. The run was tuff from the start but if I could run the same as pt Macq I would finish around 10:40 ish and if I had a 4 hour run in me I was looking and 10:20 +. Well not to be as my knee decided not to play and packed in at around the 8 k mark. My splits show that early I was on track for the run that I had been training for and I was actually looking at a 3:50 run. Game on I thought for just a moment! Well I tried to pick up the pace on the second lap which I did but it was only a matter of time before it (the knee) shut down totally.

I finally shuffled across the line in just over 11:14. While this was no where near what I wanted or had been training for, it was a PB if only just!

In summary, the swim was good; the bike was good and the run not so good. The saving grace on the run is that I know what went wrong and it was something out of my control.

My nutrition was good and I had no stomach issues at all – 80 grams per hour on the bike suited me perfectly.

What would I do different you ask – I would make sure that I didn’t change in T2 …. What goes on under the wetsuit is it for the race – the decision is WHAT? Is it a one piece race suit or is it a 2 piece knicks and race singlet ……. The latter is my preference.

I would also arrive on the Wednesday prior to the race (Not on the Thursday as I did this time) – I didn’t feel that I had enough time with registration on the Friday and bike check in on the Saturday I personally felt that I didn’t have enough time to relax while getting in the last minute training that I needed to do. Flying out on the Tuesday was fine.

As for the support – Dam awesome again. It’s a long day for the spectators and to stay load and happy all day is fantastic.

A MASSIVE thanks to Jessica (my fantastic partner) and my little boy Oskar who have never complained once and continually supported me – I think they are happy that I’m out of the pubs J

The entire Big Boy Clan where great along with everyone else who was there in full voice ….. Oh yeh - and the Coach …. Matty was there supporting all of his lads all of the way not only on the day but every day of the year – Thanks Mat, your support is awesome and very much appreciated. A special mention must go out to a good mate - Komo. This guy is a machine – Massive engine and an even bigger heart and an awesome family. He has helped me so much in my training….. As they say, you get faster training with faster people …. And this guy is FAST! …. So Komo, thanks mate ;)

So it’s moving forward now to Geelong 70.3 …. I have already jumped back into the pool and felt good. With some continued work on my knee I will be back on track next week ready to push out another PB (fingers crossed J ) and tick another box.

Until we meet again!

Craaaaaaank IT

Season 2008 - 2009 is well and truely alive

Well i thought it was time to throw a few things down on paper - well you get what I mean.
The season has started and I headed off to the Gold Coast about 4 weeks back with a mate Flash (yes first name is Gordon). Naturally the conditions were a lot different than we had trained in down her in sunny Melbourne. without going into massive detail, we both had solid races in 30+ degree heat and came out with PB's - so no complaining there.
Now training has stepped up a gear and there are quite a few of us preparing ourselves for WA ironman which is on 7th December.
There are a few in our squad who are preparing for their 1st Ironman and if their awesome Half IM results a long with their solid training is anything to go by, these lads will have a cracker of a race. As for myself, after a couple of IM races, my legs feel solid and finally my swimming is starting to take shape. So there it is, the road to WA (then Pt Maq) is beginning to be built.
Stay tuned for updates from here on.
Caff

Australian Ironman 2008 race report

Ironman Australia

Pt Macquarie April 6^th 2008.

Well where to being? The training was now complete other than 4 days of quick “freshening up” work and a swim every day.

Wednesday prior to the race, I jumped on a plane with Jess, Jimmy & Fay heading for Newcastle. From there, a hire car was the means of transport to take us up to Pt Macquarie on the north east coast of NSW. Once we arrived, we unpacked and I caught up with Komo and we went down to the Panthers Club for a massage which we had booked a month earlier.

So let’s cut to the chase …… Sunday morning arrives (an extra hour of sleep was gold – due to daylight savings finishing and we were to set our clocks back an hour)

Well the heavens opened up and down it rained ….. And did it rain. Once we had checked it, we all crammed into a tent hoping the rain would stop …. And it did (just) and off to my bike I went to make the final check, add my nutrition & water in my jetstream and really just make sure all is ready to go.

So do you think I could find anyone? Not a chance. I managed to get some shelter for some random chap (he was a top fella) and we just chatted for a while – helped me take my mind off what was just about to happen!

Just as I was making my way down to the water with my bag ( I was thinking I was going to have to leave my bag under a tree) I found Jimmy D. He took my bag, zipped me up and off I went ….. On my pat Malone!

I happened to see Kerry & the girls just before the race and after a cuddle & kiss from team Komo... Off I wondered into the water.

The Swim

Into the water I go and feeling as calm as I could. I had a couple of 20 mtr “sprints” as to try and warm up my arms. So once I was settled and the National Anthem was played (and the goose bumped died down) I was waiting for the 1 minute countdown … not sure if I didn’t hear it however the gun goes BANG ….. Yep, I’m off in my 2^nd Ironman …. GIDDY UP.

So after the first couple hundred meters of chaos, I managed to settled down and find a rhythm. All was going well and the madness starts again. This year they have made the course a little narrower hence a lot more “Bang & Crash”. While I got my fair whack, I kept the “western suburbs” theory in mind …. An eye for an eye. I dished out plenty! As I completed the first lap (of 2) I was feeling quite strong and happy with the thoughts going through my mind. I managed to find some feet and I stuck with them for quite some time. So as I was leaving the water, I look up at the clock …1:10:20 …. WTF!!! Aaarrrrrrr …. And I felt so good in the water too. Dam … naturally I was hoping to go quicker than that. As it turns out, it was a slow swim so I’ll take that as ‘not a bad result”

Into T1 …. I just took my time. Dam wetsuit didn’t do me any favours with it getting all scrunched up around my feet. Nothing much to write about …. Everything else when OK. Over to my bike, a quick drink of 30grms CHO …. Grab my bike and off I go.

RIDE

Well my plan was to ride at a low HR so once through the township of Pt Macq and onto the flat my HR was settled and into a rhythm I went. Nothing much to talk about on the first lap. I saw Komo and he was on a mission ….. Gee he was riding strong. Then I saw Pistol Pete. I was about 4-5 minutes behind him so while keeping my HR in check; I was trying to peg him back. Into the second lap I was slowly closing in on Pistol while Komo was smashing it up …. He was riding away from me at a rate of knots! So into the 3^rd lap and Matty (Coach) tells me to slow down – I think he may have thought I was over riding (which I wasn’t) but I followed his instructions and slowed down. While on the 3^rd lap, I had a piece of plastic get caught in my wheel and while it didn’t seem to effect the bike I decided to stop and get the plastic out from my wheel ….. This was a good time to take a leak so off to the bushes I went.

Back into town and all was going well. I slowed down for the last few minutes with a marathon in mind! The conditions on the ride were varied, clearing skies in Pt Mac while we had rain and wind out at Lake Catheye – so we got a bit of everything.

Into T2 … once again, no hurry.

I changed my socks, runners on and took the cap of choice and out of the tent I went … what to do next? Stretch …. Yep, I sat myself on the ground and had a dam good stretch of my back and hips …. And yes a few comments came my way!

Up I got, sun screen added and off I go. The best thing happened to me as I left T2, I ran straight past a guys leaving T2 and he was hurting! … GOLD … I thought to myself – I’m in better nick than someone else. So off I went and at the boat ramp turn around a few k’s down from the village I saw Pistol. I took note of his position and then went back into my own world of concentration. Back into the village and off to the other side is where I saw the Team Crankit crew who were giving us all great support. It was time to relax and flex the guns for a few pics and keep the crowd happy ….. Always the entertainer. At this stage I was feeling well and I had found some sort of rhythm.

Into lap 2 and I had already downed 1 ½ flasks of gel (I run with 2 – 1 per 20 k) and I thought to myself .. Go easy pal! I was adding water to the empty flask and utilising every ounce of energy I could find in the flask. I go past the place I spotted pistol on the last lap so I’m thinking, just keep the pace and there could be a chance that we finish this race together (we had discussed this during many of our training days that we spent together) As I get back to the team CrankIT crew, I was starting to get the wobbles …. Here I am at the 28 k mark ….. Hold it together! As I went up windmill hill for the second last time someone yelled out ….. just have fun & enjoy it. Yeh I thought to myself … enjoy it. And off I ran for the final 14 ks of this great race. By this time I knew I was behind where I wanted to be in terms of my run time (but not a massive way away).I ran into Shannon from WSTC and he was having ITB issues … so as the good bloke that I am, I told him that he had to run with me … and he did for about 5 K … he then had to walk for a couple of minutes …. I kept plodding on. I then get to the place where I spotted pistol and here I was still catching him …. Yep, by about the 38 k mark I should meet up with my training buddy and then cross the line together …… well someone forgot to tell Pistol that. The Pistol … or is machine gun got to the 38 K mark and then hit the gas button and off he went …. In a great display, the big fella had a great last 4-5 k’s and ran away from me. As I get close to home, I zip up the race suit, brush the hair …. Add some lippy and off I head down the runway. I have been thinking about what “signature move” I was going to offer the screaming crown and a favorite WWF wrestler John Cena was going to be rewarded with a “you cant see me” manoeuvre. So I’m heading down the runway all alone, I see Jess a give her a high 5, a few steps later a few fist pumps leave the body all ready for the “signature move”. I get 2 steps from the line, pump the fist again and turn back to the screaming crown who could sense that something special was about to happen J And something special almost happened .. as I turned, two maniac’s were sprinting down the finish line and almost took me out ….. No signature moves for the crowd …… well you know what that means ….. I’ll just have to come back and do it all over again ….. And a lot faster too J …. Oh yeh, I had a 55 min PB from last year and a small goal was to run the marathon …. Aid stations and all …..And I did.

MASSIVE thanks to the ETPA crew who made there way up to Pt Mac and supported us all before, during & after the race – it make a massive difference and helps so much. Thanks to all that sent me messages of support …. Every bit helps.

To Pistol & Komo – thanks gents …. And gents they are. Two awesome men who trained extremely hard and had great races in what was a hard day at the office. They helped me out before, during and after the race and their assistance is & was very much appreciated.

Time for me to now flood my body with COFFEE; add a kg or 2 to the waist enjoy the next week or so before I get back into a long winter of training looking forward to a quicker 2008 / 2009 season.

"There is no tomorrow"

Well the time has come. 5 & 1/2 days until I take battle with not only 1600 other hardcore athletes but also myself with the aim of putting a sizable PB next to my name in the 2008 Ironman Australia in Pt Macquarie on Sunday 6th April.
Coach Tippet at ETPA has provided me with the platform over the winter months and along with PB's in both my Half Ironman's that I competed in, I feel healthy in both mind & body.
Tomorrow morning I jump on a plane with Jess and a couple of friends (and training partner) Jimmy & Fay heading for the lovely town of Pt Macquarie.
Once up there, I will need to control all emotions as this is where you can waste lots of energy by getting caught up in all the pre race hype.
This year I feel a lot better prepared as I have a year of training under my belt and a better understanding of what the day is all about - In saying that, I still have a MASSIVE amount to learn and that will take years - for now, it's all about listening to what those close to me have to say, taking it in and believing what my mind tells me. At the end of the day, I'm the only one responsible for my actions on the day and what I do at certain times of the day to make my race a successful one.
A quick thank you ( in no particular order) too:
Jess & my baby ninja (Due 08/08/2008)
Coach Tippet
Komo (Racing IM)
Pistol (Racing IM)
Jimmy D
Captain
Princess
Big Boy
Damo
Ron
Dennis
And all ETPA training partners that have helped me out throughout the year.
Not only will I do you all proud, I will do myself proud.
Supported with my mantra of:
"Nice & light and full of fight"
&
"HTFU"
"There is no tomorrow"
Stay tuned for my race report
Happy training / racing
Caff

"Sunday - Not far away"

Well Sunday 6th April is not too far away and ETPA training schedule has been at its best over recent times.
I have been doing a lot of work with Pistol and over some long sessions, some interesting conversations have been had :).
This weekend is the end to all the endurance and some speed work will cap us off nicely.
I have scheduled in quite a few physio sessions that will help keep my body straight and in good working order.
Like most who are heading up to Pt Macq, I have been replaying my race in my head over and over again. I know what I need to do and with some good fortune coupled up with all the hard work, I know I will achieve!
So back to the couch now for some rest and then off for a ride .......
Caff