The numbers keep growing, the weeks keep shrinking...

That's right, the weeks are shrinking....fast, however my numbers in training are growing....fast. So I would say that things are heading the right way for both stats.

I am still a long way off peaking at my training numbers, however the body and mind are feeling as good as ever and the increases are more enjoyable rather than intimidating. I had a chat with Coach Andrew last week about where the numbers might get to if my body holds up....That is bloody scary. I am hoping that I can get to those numbers (will state them down the track) to see how mentally strong I am and how much improvements I still have left in me.

How motivating was it to see Cadel Evans win the Tour De France. I must admit, the late nights got to me and was unable to sustain the night in night out ritual like many of my friends did but the motivation that I have gained from it has been fantastic. Could not have come at a better time for me. Not that the motivation was dwindling, but to get a massive boost is always a help. I was going to blog mid week about motivation and what gets me going, however seeing Cadel take the Tour Victory is enough for now..(Maybe another topic for down the track)

Everything has been going according to plan, however I did learn one thing yesterday afternoon....I cannot eat a whole box of favourite chocolates and not be violently ill that night. Rookie mistake one would say.....I would say, I was just being a pig!! Lesson learnt, no harm done to training, this time!!

The swimming has been showing improvements and today I got the understanding of how Ben felt when he swam with me regulary. When you consistently swim with someone faster, you never actually feel like you are improving and it is not until you reflect on the times you are producing that you realize that you are making improvements. For me, swimming with Greg has been a great thing, someone who is just out of reach when the going gets tough. This has helped me greatly, however never making inroads into the distance between us started eating me up today.

The agreed set was 500m w/up, then 38 x 100m on a 1.30 cycle. This might mean a lot to many, however in triathlete terms, this is a big set for the average swimmer (that's me!!). The first 15 were "easy" (unsure how doing a 1.30m cycle can ever be "easy"), then following that the next 15 were "solid" (that's more like my intensity for these) and the final 8 at "tempo" (hmmm, this was always going to be a battle.

We agreed that we would come in on around the 1.25min for the first 15 then decrease the time after this. First 15 come and go.....average 1.22min, feeling ok, however knowing that when the set changes to "solid" (must be his solid not mine!!) I was going to hurt. I managed to knock off 25 x 100m on the 1.30min cycle before my arms said that was enough. Now I am no quitter, so I rested for 1 set, added some paddles and buoy and continued on my way. I got through another 8 on the 1.25 cycle before I rested again and then finished off the last 4 trying to hang onto Greg.

For me, this was a pass!! I was hoping to get to 20, 25 was more than acceptable first up. Next time around no less than 38 will be acceptable.

The riding is also improving and I am feeling my riding legs returning, finally. A few hills on the weekend was enough to return some waining confidence about my cycle legs. And the running is the running. It comes around 8-10 times a week and then it returns the next week. My legs are getting stronger with both the riding and running, however it is always hard to gauge these without racing. One would say that I am really looking forward to Yeppoon in 3 1/2 weeks!!

For Now...

X-Man

PS. On a different note, I would like to send my condolences out to all that knew the late John Cornish who was unfortunately hit by a vehicle on Friday evening whilst out training and passed away due to the injuries suffered. I didn't know John that well myself, however I certainly know many people who were close to John and my heart felt wishes go out to all of you. John was a Pro-triathlete in his day and then switched across to Pro-cycling and was well respected by his peers. John also was a Triathlon coach at Tri-Alliance.

This gives a reminder that whilst we are training, we have to keep alert at all times, some things cannot be avoided, this for example, however please take care out there and stay safe. This is news that as a fellow triathlete and cyclist I wish I didn't have to hear/read about especially when it touches people around you.

The countdown is on...

Yes, I am counting down. Counting down to the biggest race of my life. Counting down until I jump on the plane to head across to Kona and even counting down until I get on the plane to head to Yeppoon 1/2 in 4 weeks.

I am also counting down to get out of the weather here, yes the sun has been shining, however it has been freezing. Hence I write this blog at 9am instead of being out on the bike. That's what my afternoon plan is.....riding in the sun. With the weather getting below 0 deg, I decided that I am no super hero, nor am I trying to get used to the cold conditions, so waiting until the afternoon is my decision!

Now, as far as training is going, it is going well. After suffering the potentially disease "man flu" I had to have an easy week, which coincided with my recovery week and managed 12 hrs of training, I am now back into the full swing of things getting back up to my comfort zone around the 20hrs per week. I know that I will be going up a level soon and hitting 25+hrs per week, but let's wait until that comes around. I learnt my lesson about wanting more, refer to this blog. So patience is my motto and getting every session ticked off along the way is my goal.

Training is still fun (apart from trying to get out is 0 degrees), swimming is going well and it was good to see Matty Lewis at the pool yesterday. We had a bit of fun trying to tame the swimming beast Greg Farrell which also coincided with Matty and I both swimming pb's for the distance we relayed in!!

Greg had been a great help to me in the pool, getting my to well and truly step out of my comfort zone and I am learning my boundaries and limits for respective distances. Pushing me until I can't be pushed any more.

Sometimes I get out of the pool feeling and looking like this. (notice how red this swimmers back is = fatigued)

Often the comment, "Is your back sun burnt?" gets asked, my usual response is, "No, just been swimming with Greg!"

I have enjoyed the sessions, and am seeing improvements week after week. We both have set a plan in place and are working towards it and I am very sure that it will be anther box that I will tick off.

It has been great getting back on the bike also. I am currently mixing up the riding between my trusty TT bike and my roadie. Breaking up the rides by doing this is making it so much easier to get out and enjoy the sessions. But soon the roadie will be having a spell and the TT bike will be out in force.

Getting back out on the bike for 10+ hours per week makes me comfortable, however I know that I am a fair way off from having my riding legs.

At Mag trainer Thursday night my legs exploded a few times. My mind still thinks that I have cycling legs, however the body does no better....for now!! My legs will be "all rounders" with both cycling and running heavily implanted in them.

The running is still going well, putting the recovery week behind me where I felt like my legs gained 10kg's each as I could not reach the speed/efforts that I could previously. My running legs are coming back and my intensities are back to where I like.

Overall everything is on track and I am really looking forward to the increased volume, I am just hoping for some moreand less.

For now...

X-Man

Here we go...

Tonight is the official start of my Ironman Hawaii preparation. So far I have been running like no tomorrow, following the black line over and over again in the pool and with the occasional pedal around the streets to prepare myself for a massive 12 weeks.

With the actual race 94 days and with me leaving 3 odd weeks prior, no stone will be left unturned from now until then.

I actually looked over my training for June and worked out that I ran over 450k's for the month and swam just under 70k's also. This puts me in a good position as these were the 2 disciplines that needed attention and with having focused on those I know that with the introduction of riding back into the program consistently, I will still be heading in the direction that I want to get to.

When I look back at my running, to get the volume completed and the consistency in the legs really compliments the program that I have undertaken. This I can only thank Andrew for in preparing me for the 12 weeks of torture that will I face.

Greg has been a massive help in the pool, smashing me to pieces more often than not, however his help has been invaluable and made the progress easier and faster.

Tonight will not only be exciting, however a little scary all the same as I have been averaging around 20hrs per week at the moment without any big riding. What will the hours get to?? I have no idea, however will find out this evening.

The count down is definitely on and the phone calls will start happening sourcing training partners from around the place, not only to train with, but to feed me also :-).....I have to thank a few people for have dinner ready for me after training, it is muchly appreciated!!

After my discussion tonight, will have a whole lot more knowledge, excitement and nerves about what is forthcoming.

For Now...

X-Man

Ps. A big well done to those who toughed it out at IM Korea over the weekend and a HUGE congrates to Dane for finishing 4th and booking his ticket to Kona.

Everthing is weird right now!!

But, all in a good way :-)

Training is going well, the k's are increasing, the legs are getting more and more fatigued, however one thing is weird. My times are improving.

I know this is probably the that is should go, however, I would have thought it would be once the k's decrease, not increase. Backing up my 120km run week the week previous with a 125k run week last week, the legs, mind and body are going strong.

My swimming is still going well, and swimming a 57.30min 3.8k in a 50m pool solo gives me good confidence that my swimming is progressing to where I want it to be. The main thing that I have noticed about my swimming is the lack of cramps that I am currently getting. I put this down to using Hammer Endurolyte tablets, since I have been taking the Endurolytes, I just simply don't cramp anymore. Knowing this gives me confidence during a long endurance swim set knowing that I will complete the set without the dreaded cramps.

During the recent 3.8k swim, I even managed to negative split all 3 k's, going from 15.36, to 15.20 then down to a 14.50min effort and then finishing off the 800m well under the 12min mark. I am still a little bit off my goal time for Kona, but the main thing is that I am heading towards it, even deep in training. The biking is slowly coming, albeit ugly at the moment due to lack of bike k's in the legs, but I still have over 3 months to get them back to where I want.

I do have interesting times ahead, with training now being at a consistent 20 hours per week with not much biking, so no doubt once the next program gets finalised, these hours will increase once again. Something that is intimidating and exciting at the same time.

My race plan did recently change, with me not competing in an of the running races that I intended to. This was a decision by Andrew and myself, as we both agreed that I would get more benefit out of consistent training week in week out. I was content with this as my legs have been tired and heavy and the thought of a 15k smash fest did not really excite me (but a 2hr 20min run in the hills did!!).

I don't have much else to report about my prep, just one week is rolling into the next at the moment. I am looking forward to the upcoming weekend's Ironman in Korea to follow some mates compete there and hopefully book their ticket to Kona.

For now...

X-Man

And so it finally begins!!

I write this blog with some excitement, although I know it is going to be a whole lot of hard work combining it all.

I am finally getting back on the bike to re-introduce it into my training. It is a strange feeling when you look back at your training and see that you have consistently been running more than biking. What does this mean?? One of three things:

1) I have been running a lot,
2) I haven't been biking, or
3) A combination of both.

Option 3 is where it is at and with this week going to be another around the 110k's running, I can finally say that my biking will top this for the first time is many a week. What else does this mean?? That tomorrow's 3hr ride in the hills is going to be very ugly and painful.

I am excited all the same though, as I love biking and enjoy getting out chewing the fat with my mates. Tomorrow we welcome a couple of fresh faces that are on the Ironman wagon and I look forward to many an hour in the saddle along side both Laz & Tim. This adds to the "usual suspects" that I train with and once everyone gets back into full training for their relative Ironman races, it will be an exciting group to train with.

The winter weather has been interesting, however my new found love for treadmill running and my mag trainer again has overcome the conditions that have been facing all who train at this time of year, unless ofcourse you live in far north Qld. (oh, if only!!)

The Kona count is still in triple digits, so it is still a long way from being here, however I know that once it lowers into double digits, it is just around the corner. I am really looking forward to Yeppoon 70.3 this year as I will be in the best shape of my life at that time of year and am hanging to see the result that I can produce.

As stated previously I have changed my whole swimming program and to my surprise, I am still lowering my pb. Today with Greg Johnny Memphis Jnr, we did 2 x 1k TT with my times coming in on the 13.27 for the first one and 13.55 for the second, a little bit slower however the 13.27 was a pb by 18secs, which I cannot complain about. My goal coming closer to the race is to get a pb of lower than 13min and also punch out 4 x 1k TT efforts coming in on 13.45 leaving on the min cycle. Tough ask, but so is Kona and I am going to complete Kona, so no reason that I can't complete this task!

So, at the moment all is going well (might be a different statement after the mornings ride) and no complaints at the moment. I also have been accredited with my level 1 coaches certificate and I look forward to learning from the athletes that I will be coaching along with passing on the experience and knowledge that I ahve gained over my journey.

For now...

X-Man

Time to find ALL my winter cycling gear.

Knee deep in it!!

Where to start??

Just coming off my first 100k+ run week, I never thought that I would be looking forward to seeing how much my body can handle. Of course the body was sore, however the mind is strong and the motivation is unquestionable.

When I look at my blog and see the count down timer gradually decrease, the excitement grows and so do the nerves. It must be getting closer as even my boss asked me to fill in holiday forms for the time that I will be away.

I was chatting to a few at run squad last night and we were talking about upcoming races etc and for a few of us, our main race is not far away, albeit later in the year. When you look at your race schedule, you certainly do realise that the days, weeks & months certainly count down faster than you somewhat want at times.

Throw in relocating, doing my level 1 accreditation and work, the days are disappearing faster than I think. I am certainly making the most of every minute throughout the day and utilizing what I can where I can to ensure that everything is accounted for and am justifying my existence.

So back onto the training, the running is going well, the swimming is holding its own and the riding will slowly start to increase to match the other two moving forward.

My weight is down to 88kgs, never thought I would be this light so early in a preparation, however does give me confidence that I will be able to drop it lower as it gets closer. A few dodgy sushi rolls over the last weekend did help me drop it, however was not in the plan and I ensured that the weight was put back on so that I could maintain my training.

I have a few running races upcoming including a 10k road race this weekend, a 15k road race two weeks later, then the Gold Coast Half Marathon at the beginning of July. Then before I know it Yeppoon 1/2 Ironman will have come and gone and I will be sweating it out on the roads of Kona. I just have to keep crossing the t's and dotting the i's and I am confident that the rest will take care of itself!!

For now...

X-Man

Another 1 down, many more to follow!!

So, after my last blog about the volume of running that is going to commence, I have just finished another 90+ km week. The week finished with a reasonable hilly run at Brimbank park with a good sized group (although we all had our own program to do). I did find myself running mainly solo due to this reason and just found as many hills that I could. See below garmin file:



So with a run like that finishing off my week, I am also happy to have a leg rest day on the Monday. This never means an easy day though....Just off to the pool to get 4.5-5k done focusing on upper body, plenty of pull buoy, paddles, and band (oh I hate the band work).

Late last week I also went into XOsize to look at my race suit for Kona, and I was very impressed by the way the suit has been made and cannot wait to get into it to see how good it actually is!! The only little flaw in the suit is one star missing from the flag on the front of it. This will be rectified by the time Kona is upon me.

Check pics below:



So, thanks Scott for organising this for me, and I am looking forward to wearing it!!

For now...

X-Man

Be careful of what you wish for!!

It just might come true. It might sound good at the start, but once you are knee deep in it, it won't be easy.

I was running with a friend during the week and mentioned how I had many weeks running in the 90-95k mark but had never reached 100k's. The response was that it was early in the Kona build and that I shouldn't look for more than what is on my program. Hey, I understood that, but doesn't everyone want to be able to say that they have had a 100k run week?? For me, it has nothing to do with training or talking myself up, just a barrier that I would like to tick off along the way.

Enter meeting with coach here.......

So, last night I had my monthly meeting with Andy and mentioned the same thing to him. So politely and genuinely he said, "Your wish is granted!!"

Planning out the next block of running, not only will I get to 100k's for 1 week, it will most likely be for the whole block and up to 115k's for a couple of weeks. WOW!! He then ask me my thoughts about it, slightly excited but also knowing how fatigued I will be I responded, "Yeah, I am looking forward to that." Looking forward to it, am I crazy?? Looking forward to having my feet and legs pounding the pavement for over 100 k's per week, why would I look forward to that??

There is one simple answer: Kona

Kona is the goal and has been the goal since day 1 in this sport and to achieve my goal at Kona, this is what is required. Going through the long hours of training with my best mates chewing the fat over some of the most ridiculous conversations about nothing. Going through the highs and lows of how the body is feeling and getting that self belief that anything is possible.

Just getting the hardest session in for the week completed, and no it isn't a 2-3hr run, nor a 5-6hr ride.....It is the recovery swim Sunday afternoon, the little simple 2-3k splash in the pool. It is hard mentally as you know it is the last session of the week, and that you might not get any improvements from this session, but it sure as hell helps you the following week.

The bike is still on the back burner with the outlook being less than 100 k's a week on her. The thought of running more than riding is very daunting to say the least, but this whole Ironman caper is all about the run. You can't run, you can't achieve your goals. I am still a fair way off being a runner, however all arrows are pointing in that direction.

The program has effectively providing me with 10 runs per week, splitting up the sessions to enable me to complete the sessions without the fear of injury. This is a mental hurdle for me and once I tick off the first week of this, I know the rest will come and go before I know it.

Anyway, I might as well go and enjoy the first of many many runs this program, albeit an easy 30min this morning.

For now...

X-Man

Am glad that week is over!!

Last week was a tough one for me. I had a few firsts in training and am glad that I was able to tick them off by the weeks end.

After running the 1/2 Marathon, I then was programmed to run every day after for the next week. Now this must be what they call a "running" block. I was able to get through the early week sessions ok, however as the week got deeper, the session got harder. The weird thing was that it wasn't necessary harder on the body, just mentally. The sessions were not long or didn't have any quality, was just hard to get my mind going to get the job done. Finishing the week with a 2hr run in the hills was just what I needed to win the mind over body debate that was going on.

I got a further 70k's in the running legs last week and totalled just under 100k's in the 9 days straight of running. With a weekly total of 16 1/2 hours.

What gets me more is that I have more running in this week than last, however it is not daunting to say the least.

This week started well with a swim session Monday. My original plan was to get 4k of long easy k's in the arms until a mate of mine Gregory rang and we decided to do the session together. His call of 20 x 200's on a 3.20 cycle seemed reasonable enough, (I was thinking 10-15sec rest between). But no, we mixed up the sets in 4 lots of 5, some with paddles, some pull buoy, some band & some normal freestyle (That was Greg's anyway). Mine was 5 with paddles, 5 normal, 5 paddles, 5 normal. After touching the wall on an average of 2.52 per 200m, I was quite satisfied with the session, especially after how I felt during the latter stages of last week.

Another thing that has sprung to mind is starting to decide my race schedule for 2012. With most Ironmans selling out within 12 hours, and still not have even raced Kona yet (149 days away) I have to look at which races to do before I miss the boat and have a year out of Ironman. My original plan is to look at attempting 4 Ironman races next year, just finding the right races is the difficult part. I am going to head back to WA 2012 as a definite, however I would like to choose an early season race also.

With the talk of a few races being added to the calendar this part of the world, it might be a good opportunity to achieve the 4 without blowing multiple holes in the finance department!

I also must make a special mention here to a guy that I know who achieved a massive achievements. The first is Matty Lewis who after you read his blog, you will realise that not only is the guy lucky to be alive (after crashing his bike a few years back) the fact that he made the extraordinary effort to complete an Ironman is one thing, but to win his age group (i must admit I never thought he was 40!!) and qualify for Kona is one achievement that makes you realise that if you really want to achieve the dream, you can!! He made no excuses about training, he just got the job done!

A massive thumbs up Matty!! (nice race suit also!)

For me, this is another bit of inspiration to keep moving forward and ticking off those boxes. On that note, the running shoes are calling my name.

For now...

X-Man

Having the trust makes it happen!!

It is funny when you sit down with someone that knows that you are honest with them and how things are progressing. To have an opinion about which direction you want to go, and what is the best way to get there.

It is also funny that when that person listens to your opinion on your thoughts and direction and takes it on board when planning your program and the direction that the partnership is going to travel.

The reason why I say this, every time I meet with Andrew (TMC) to construct a program I can tell him what I would like to do, how I am feeling and a report on the previous program/discussion. Andrew then comes up with a well thought answer which satisfies my question/curiosity/or what ever the situation.

For the previous times we have sat down pre-race (whatever that race might be) he has blown me away with some of his predictions about my capabilities. Example : Yeppoon 1/2 Ironman, Andrew predicted my ride & run time within the minute of both. For him, knowing the truth about my training & lifestyle can give him the confidence of writing a program for me and also learn my boundaries.

So after our meeting most recently, we discussed my race plan for the Geelong 1/2 Marathon on the weekend. My ultimate goal was to break 80mins (see last post), when I told Andrew this, he plainly so "no". This could have shattered my confidence, however when he explained his reasoning to me and then told me that I could run under 79mins, I thought he was dreaming as breaking 80min for me was always a mental thing.

The plan was to run 3min 45sec for the first 15k then try to pick it up for the last 6k....hmmm...always going to be a tough ask in my eyes. We did discuss this in depth and my doubts vs his trust and confidence. In the end he won and I posted about breaking 80mins. I don't often post about a certain time that I want to do, but in this case Andrew gave me the confidence of breaking 79mins, I played it safe and said 80mins.

So going into the race, I organised Adrian ( a good mate of mine) to help pace me where possible as there was 800+ Runners entered. This was very beneficial towards the last 4-5k where the legs just started to hurt and he gave me the encouragement that I needed.

I must admit that I was extremly nervous (prob excitment about trying to hit the time also) pre-race and following a bit of Ironman Australia online might have contributed to this!! So with a bit of a warmup and finding a good position on the start line I was ready to go.

The horn sounded and although I had a race plan in mind I was conscious of getting a good start and out of trouble early. I found a comfortable pace for the 1st k and then settled back into a rhythm that I would be able to hold according to the plan.

You can see the data here:

Geelong 1/2 Marathon

With the above data, you will see my HR very high, as much as I wish that I could run at those levels, I think that my HR strap is on the blink!! I also failed to stop my watch as I crossed the line, however the actual race results are here:

Geelong Cross Country Club (Inc.)
Race No : 3
Athlete's Foot - Saucony
Geelong Half Marathon 2011
1-May-11
Venue: Barwon River

Pos Reg Runner Clock Rate Category Gender Category Place

1 1777 Jason Woolhouse 1:07:53 3:13 Open Male 1
2 1567 Stephen Smith 1:13:42 3:29 Open Male 2
3 1429 Grant Morgan 1:13:55 3:30 Open Male 3
4 1486 Adrian Phelan 1:16:26 3:37 Open Male 4
5 1631 David Venour 1:16:32 3:37 Veteran Male 1
6 1951 Watto's Warriors 1:17:15 3:39 Relay 1
7 1562 Grant Simpson 1:17:28 3:40 Veteran Male 2
8 1050 Michael Bialczak 1:17:53 3:41 Masters Male 1
9 1150 Peter Cutler 1:18:00 3:41 Open Male 5
10 1847 Xavier Coppock 1:18:17 3:42 Open Male 6
11 1521 Darren Riviere 1:18:31 3:43 Veteran Male 3
12 1199 Andrew Ferguson 1:18:54 3:44 Open Male 7
13 1606 Hugh Thyer 1:19:13 3:45 Open Male 8
14 1719 Jack Verstraten 1:19:23 3:45 Veteran Male 4
15 1068 Ray Bradbury 1:20:13 3:48 Veteran Male 5
16 1565 George Skoufis 1:20:30 3:48 Open Male 9
17 1854 Scott Nicholas 1:21:25 3:51 Open Male 10
18 1123 Brooke Condon 1:21:56 3:52 Open Female 1
19 1437 Geoff Moulday 1:22:17 3:53 Veteran Male 6
20 1737 Craig Keenan 1:22:33 3:54 Open Male 11


This is the top 20 out of the 800 finishers.

So, after the start, I managed to settle into a good tempo and hold 3.42 mpk pretty consistently until the 10k mark (36min 40sec). My legs felt good and I was leading a rather large pack, so I decided to increase the speed just slightly to see how everyone else was feeling. I lowered the pace to 3.36 - 3.37 and held onto that for a few k's and still was feeling really good. Once we got to the 12k mark I had a quick glimpse to find that I only had 1 other guy with me, so I then settled back into a 3.40 pace with some slightly faster k's in there.

The hour went by and I had just over 16.6k on the clock and was still feeling good. By the time 17.5k had passed and with some slightly undulations/little rollers, my legs were starting to feel the pinch. Adrian then kicked in and gave me some encouragement, humour & distance updates on the guy behind me. I knew that I was sitting 10th on the road (9th individual) and I was determined not to drop out of the top 10. I had worked to well to let it go!!

My pace dropped to 3.50 until the 20k mark where the course flattened right out (don't get me wrong, it is a flat track, but some little rises do take the pinch out of the legs). Once the last 1.5k were upon me I increased the pace again to finish the race off strong.

My final time was 1hr 18min 17sec which placed me 9th individual and 10th overall. A pb by a BIG number and one that I will break again at my next race.

Knowing that Andrew can pick my times, it does give me confidence and trust that if I do stick to his (to the best of my ability) I will continue to punch out good numbers.

The next 7 days all involve running and I am looking forward to everyone of them.

For now...

X-Man