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

Geelong 70.3 race report

Yeh I know, it's late - but hey, better late than never!

Geelong 70.3

Coming into this race, a few of us have been putting in the miles for the journey of Pt Macq in mind ….. So no real taper for this one!

Matty had indicated that there was going to be NO real speed for this race as this was a prep for IM OZ

Going into the swim, I was reasonably comfortable.

Training had been going along well and I was ready to have a good swim.

So hear we go.

As the pro’s continually drifted forward 50+ meters from the start, the gun went off. Us age groupers had to then wait another 5 minutes before they let us go.

SWIM

Into the swim we went all 1100 athletes heading to the first buoy at 500m.

I think my good mate Komo punched me smack fair in the jaw after about 10 stokes or so ….. So my thoughts were correct, this is going to be nasty!

And yep, it was. As we hit the first turn, BANG …. We are heading east and straight into the sun, can’t see a thing …. But I wasn’t on my own, 1100 others were having the same issue.

Throughout the swim, I was kicked in the throat once, kicked in the “Back tyres’ twice, punched more times that I could keep count of and had my goggles ripped of once … so out of the water in 35 + minutes

T2 was OK … no real story … all went OK ….. Although I could have got my wetsuit off a bit quicker!

BIKE

Off for a 90k roll and for the first 5 minutes that’s all it was. The traffic of bikes throughout the parklands was crazy. Once I hit the HWY, I was able to find a rhythm and off I went. Control was my motto for the day and this is what I did.

I got my HR down into E2B+ and that’s were it stayed ….. Other that climbing the hills!

All was going well and even keeping to this HR I was set to ride a 2:36 – 2:38ish which is what I was looking for at that effort.

UNTIL – A fat doughnut eating official pinged me for drafting … and what made things even worse was that when he pinged me, he told me that I was drafting some 3ks back from where we were at the time and this was after I had climbed the hill and was all alone … WTF!

Off to the penalty box I go …. Waiting, waiting!!!!

Lucky it was the last lap and after the 5 minute penalty, I was off for a short ride back into transition.

Ride time of 2:44 with a 5 minute penalty

RUN

Control was still the call …. Stay in control and don’t let a fat doughnut eating bum spoil my day.

So off I went and from the word go, I felt comfortable. HR was into the 150’sand I was feeling nice.

Lap 1 came and went and I was happy as I was feeling fine ….. no real pain, my back was in good knick and I had forgotten about Mr Doughnut King

Lap 2 was good as I was slowly picking off a few people and still feeling fine. I was sticking to my plan of “NOT” looking around for others and keeping a lid on things. Lap 3 was nice and controlled. HR stayed the same for the entire run and legs were good……… easy to say now I know, however I did feel I could have kept going!

Run time of 1:43

Over all in the lead up to Pt Macq, I was a happy camper

"When it rains they sleep"

Today was the end of week one of an endurance phase which has seen lots of K's riding & running.
Today, Pistol Pete & I rode out on our journey towards to cold & wet town of Ballarat - and we weren't disappointed - Yep, it rained all the way there and half the way back!
As we had plenty of time to talk & think about what we were doing, my thoughts went along the lines of - YES, we are the only ones out here....... conclusion, "When it rains they sleep"
I must say that riding with Pistol is fantastic as his passion and reason for doing what we do is first class...... and he can ride!!!!!....... he has an engine and it's about to be unleashed!!!!
When I woke this morning I could hear the rain smashing down on the roof, for a brief moment I thought to myself now nice that was until I remembered that I was to be riding in it only an hour later.
Back to reason for this blog ..... I can only hope that the conditions at both Geelong & Pt Mac are like today as a fair amount of my competitors would have rolled over and said "Not today".
I know that the hard core group at ETPA would have jumped out of bed like they do every morning with one thing in mind. Train & train hard ..... the results will then look after themselves.
I have a mirror image of training this week so the legs may be looking for a well earned massage by the end of the week in preparation for the Geelong Half Ironman. From there it's off to Pt Mac and after last year when it gave me a good slapping, this and many more "endurance phase" training sets will give me the tools I need to give it one back ..... as I will be taking a secret weapon with me ... it's called HTFU.
Off to get me another mug of liquid gold
Caff

"There is no tomorrow"

With only 34 days until the Geelong 70.3 and 84 days until Ironman OZ there are now no excuses as to the effort that is to be put in to my training.
What you miss today can't be replaced tomorrow - easy - don't miss a beat for 85 days as this is when the results come. After a mug of my favorite liquid today (Coffee) with a fella who is as hardcore and disciplined as they come mentioned to me that 'I ain't seen nothing yet' in terms of the hurt & pain as the month of Feb is going to bring to me got me thinking - use these days as if there is no tomorrow. Train like you have never trained before, be as disciplined in terms of technique as I can, stay right on the money in terms of my zones (they are there for a reason), stay focused on the job at hand and allow no distractions (when & where possible) - This will equal the result that I'm after - NO QUESTIONS ~! As we all know, this sport can become very selfish and a great partner is needed - I'm lucky to have Jess at my side who will support me through 85 days of mental & physical pressure 100%
I have just about got my body right and touch wood, the injuries stay away. I have booked in to see all the people who will maintain my body and keep it straight all the way through until PT MACQUARIE on Sunday April 6th.~ No stone must be left unturned.
I know there is a group of us at ETPA who will be taking the same attitude into there chosen races over the next few months.
From now until then - "THERE IS NO TOMORROW"
Caff