DATE: Week of 20th Feb Chill out week

DATE: Week of 20^th Feb

WEEK OBJECTIVE: Chill out / recovery

Not much to report from this week as it was an intentional chill out week

MONDAY

Travel home with 45mins recovery run http://tpks.ws/OTc2w

TUESDAY

Recovery ride http://tpks.ws/vA5Wa

WEDNESDAY

Relaxed swim 3.5km

THURSDAY

Easy swim 30mins Core 30mins

FRIDAY

Swim 1hr

SATURDAY

RUN – early morning 7km feeling very good http://tpks.ws/gy2xK

BIKE – straight after run 2hrs on trainer – TrainerRoad CJN med-long #1 http://tpks.ws/UuUHH felt very good on a nice workout.

SUNDAY

Watching kids do a tri all morning

Bike – TrainerRoad Pyramidal. Solid workout http://tpks.ws/ATPbm

Challenge Wanaka Half Race Report

WANAKA RACE REPORT

This race was the first stepping stone towards Challenge Roth in July. My plan was to taper fully for the event and give it my best crack. Other than some ongoing minor calf issues I had a clean bill of health so no real excuses. I’m not in sub 9hr IM shape but felt I should be able to be in a reasonably strong performance. 

• Swim – it’s a long way from where it needs it to be and I was hoping to be going a little faster than I am but 2 sessions a week isn’t really enough.
• Bike – progress has been good. My main objective is to test my bike legs in the race.
• Run – I’ve intentionally not done much of a run build up for this race so I could focus more on the bike. I’m banking on a strong historical base which is a bit of a gamble but the big picture is more important than optimal performance at this race.

RACE PLAN / OBJECTIVES / OUTCOMES

PRE RACE NUTRITION

• 2 sliced of brown toast with peanut butter
• 1 serve ucan
• ½ Em’s power cookie bar
• 1 caffeine tablet 15mins before race start

SWIM

Objective

Simply swim to the best of my ability with current fitness and not rely on others. What I mean by that is I needed to be very aware of what is going on around me and not be idle sitting on others feet.

Plan

• Start the middle of the front row. The reason for this is the course was counter clockwise and I breath to my left. So after the rush off the line I could see what is happening on my inside and nip across to jump on feet as required.
• Push pretty hard off the line for the first 300m then asses the situation. From that point on be on the lookout for feet to follow.
• Keep head down, chin tucked and continuous stroke rating.

Outcome

Thankfully the water had warmed up since yesterday (which was bloody cold) and perfect conditions greeted us for the race. I’m always amazed how early some athlete get in the water, especially when the water was cold.

My warm up consisted of easy running with some drills and light plyometrics. I then stayed on the shore doing plenty of arm circles until exactly 5mins to race start at which time I needed to get out to the start line ~50-75m off the shore and get in position.

I went hard off the line hitting clear water immediately. Not a finger was laid on me for the entire swim which was really nice. After about 100m I noticed the eventual swim leader a couple of meters to my left so I shifted across, slowed for a second and jumped on his feet. After a few hundred meters of not quite being able to hang on I took stock and accepted that I was going a bit too hard so eased off and swam solo. On the 2^nd leg I got caught and had the same experience where I could not quite hang on. The 3^rd leg I was swimming easier but feeling good about things. The final leg home was straight into the sun. I could not see a thing so was super stoked that when another swimmer came through and led me into the sun with a good strong kick.

So out of the swim in 4^th place feeling like I got from A to B as quick as I could have with my current swim shape. Yes I was going backwards from the start but getting off the line and into clear water was worth it. Speaking of clear water lake Wanaka is a stunning place to swim with incredible visibility and snow caped mountains surrounding you.  

 

T1

Long sleeve skins jersey on and away.

BIKE

 Objective

• Test Power : HR
• Re-test nutrition
• Keep variability under control
• Be strong in the back half of the ride

Plan

• Ride my own race primarily but use others whenever appropriate
• Break course into chunks
• Out/back ~35km – pretty hilly. Take some of the downhills pretty easy to get HR down
• Middle section – settle in and keep pressure on during false flats
• Final section – stay strong and keep pressure on the gentle downhills. Keep cadence up!
• Ride to ~260-265w. HR ideally low 140’s avoiding any periods of significance above 145bpm

Outcome

Out of the swim and some dude in blue took off at the start of the ride. I didn’t expect to see him again until perhaps the run. Early on I knew I was going a touch hard but we were straight into hill after hill so it was not easy to get HR or power down. I did chill on the descents until I was caught by Tyrone (the eventual winner). He was riding strongly, I did chase for a good 10km knowing that I was unlikely to see many other riders for the rest of the ride.  However he was pumping the hills pretty hard while I maintained the gap on the flats and downs. It was time for me to settled into my work and back myself. I was feeling good after all and hitting the numbers I wanted to hit.

The middle section of the ride was completely solo other than passing full IM athletes. I was still feeling strong, hitting my numbers and thinking my pace was OK. The course was stunning with good temps, full sun and no wind. I was pretty happy. 

As we started to head back to town I could see some riders and technical officials in the distance who I was closing in on reasonably quickly. I whipped past the guy in blue from the start of the ride and then caught Tyrone who hung with me to the end of the ride.

Energy levels were good but I was conscious that I had not taken in all my nutrition – my stomach was just a little on edge. On the final climb before descending into town my quads nearly locked up which was a bit of a concern so I eased off on the descent into town.

Bike nutrition

• 1 ¾ bottle infinit (slightly off the 2 bottles I wanted)
• 2 gels
• caffeine tablet
• water
• missed ½ Em’s bar

Bike file http://tpks.ws/bnM41

NP 263w

HR 139bpm

  

T2

With a traditional “rack your own bike” set up here I was a little slow getting my top off + shoes & socks on and left transition in 2^nd.

I felt really good about how the ride had gone but was a little mindful of my quads and how my calves were doing.

RUN

Objective

• Try hard to work on technique modifications when getting tired

Plan

• Open up at 4min/km and hold it.
• Keep focus as simply aid station to aid station

Outcome

The Wanaka course if ~7-8km flat on trails, a few kms where the track narrows and has a few minor up/downs (which does slow the pace a little), a 1km climb then most of the rest of the run is either very slightly up or down. 

I was about 75-100m down from the lead onto the run. After banging out sub 4min/kms for the first few km’s I hit the lead. The effort felt about right and I was confident I could hang with it. All of a sudden when I hit the slightly technical stuff at ~8km my energy levels dropped and my legs got tired and sore very fast. I tried some emergency nutrition but that ship had sailed. It was time to batten down the hatches and battle to the finish.

I was caught by Tyrone on the climb and really wasn’t out of it if my 2^nd wind came but it didn’t . The final 10km was more like an ironman shuffle than a Half IM run. It was not fun!

I lost 2^nd place with a couple of km to go and was in danger of dropping another place as there was not a lot of fight left in the tank.  I was pretty spent at the finish maybe a 8/10.

Run file http://tpks.ws/VDsp7

 

REFLECTIONS

The swim was as good as I could expect for where I am at. The plan from here is to maintain through March and April then pick it up in May / June. I’d love to be swimming 4 times a week but my time is better invested in riding and running so for now 2 sessions/wk is all I can manage.

The bike was really pleasing. Power, HR and RPE were where I wanted them. I felt strong and aside from pushing a bit hard on a few climbs and early on I paced it pretty well.

The run – great to start,  then miserable. I should have forced in my nutrition as per the plan – a silly mistake I should not have made. I normally back my running but today showed the lack of training but more importantly the lack of hardness in my legs. I need some racing and some hard runs to toughen up my legs. That’s all in the plan ahead I just hoped there might have been a little more residual strength there today. I also think my body was just a bit rusty to last for a 4.5hr race – I’ll get more efficient as I gain specific race fitness.

Overall I really did want a strong race all round so I am disappointed to fall apart on the run. That being said I think I have a good handle on why the crack turned into a crevasse. As far as how I tracking for Roth I’m comfortable that I am on a good path. Kona 70.3 will be another good step up.  

Week of February 13th

DATE: 13^th February 2017

WEEK OBJECTIVE: Taper into Wanaka

MONDAY

Session Details: Taper run

• Warm up
• 2 x build ups
• 3x1km Mod hard to hard aiming for ~3:45/km (90sec RI)
• 3 x (200m fast smooth running / 200 easy)

Objective: Just quicker than race intervals but not so much that there would be any residual fatigue then some slight speed work

Execution:  Felt really quite good and very comfortable at 3:45/km pace.

 File: http://tpks.ws/fr5qJ

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TUESDAY

Session Details: Trainer ~1hr  2x12mins steady -- 3x2mins FTP

Objective: Tapering with just a tiny bit of FTP to wake up legs

Execution:  Another good session with power coming pretty easy

 File: http://tpks.ws/FcPda

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WEDNESDAY

SWIM

Session Details: Swim 50mins

• 200 warm up
• 2x100 IM
• 200 drills
• 2 x (300 - 200 - 100 - 50 building pace)(30sec RI)
• 200 easy
• 8x25 sprints
• 100 warm down

Objective: The continued theme of just enough training balanced with some speed work.

Execution:  Vey slow during the first set of descending efforts which was a bit depressing but once well warmed up the pace came a bit better.

BIKE

(was scheduled to be a run but due to fires (smoke) I did not want to run outside)

Session Details: 30mins easy on the trainer (TrainerRoad Baxter)

Objective: turning the legs over so as not to tighten up

Execution:  I would have preferred to be running today bit did not want to risk it with all the smoke about.

 File: http://tpks.ws/9BXag

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THURSDAY

Session Details: 45mins easy to steady run

Objective: turning the legs over so as not to tighten up

Execution:  Felt great this morning before the drive down.

DROVE TO WANAKA 5hrs+

I had planned to do a swim or spin but was solo parenting so didn’t work out

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FRIDAY

I normally like to to a short swim/bike/run the day before racing but today was just a 1km swim as Felicity was racing which took most of the morning and I was still flying solo.   

SATURDAY – Race day – refer to race report

SUNDAY – Family was priority so just 2 x 5km MTB spins to loosen off. Feeling pretty good really but calves playing up a bit still. 

DATE: Week of February 6th

Getting ready to take on Bevan in the Coke Zero / Team Beer relay

DATE: Week of February 6^th

WEEK OBJECTIVE: Key simulation session on Friday

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MONDAY

Session Details: Core + Run incl 4x2km mod hard to hard (aiming for 3:45/km)

Objective: Anaerobic threshold work

Execution:  Got it right in the end but took some time. Off a pretty short warm up the first rep was miserable. 2^nd rep was largely on trails so struggled to hit the pace. 3^rd and 4^th rep pretty much on the money but hard work!

 File: http://tpks.ws/R8vfk

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TUESDAY

AM SWIM – Tri club session.

            Dave Dwan workout in the outdoor pool

PM BIKE

Session Details:  Bike – trainer incl 2x15mins FTP

Objective: FTP maintenance

Execution:  I pissed around on rep getting out of erg mode as I just couldn’t hold the cadence where I wanted. Once I settled into standard mode on the kickr I was pretty happy.

 File: http://tpks.ws/5ouO4

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WEDNESDAY

Session Details: RUN 1.5hrs with some hills

Objective: General endurance + exploring a new track

Execution:  I’m focusing on taking these runs pretty easy. Nice to find a new MTB track that has just been opened.

 File: http://tpks.ws/uO7cx

MISSED - core session

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THURSDAY

Session Details:  Easy day – Commute out to a meeting. Easy walk/run. Open water swim 2km. Bike home.

Objective: Resting up for tomorrows simulation

File: swim http://tpks.ws/Xzw5T

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FRIDAY

Session Details: KEY SESSION ½ distance simulation for next weekend

SWIM 500 warm up / 1500 mod hardf

BIKE ~40km @ ~260w

RUN 7km @ 4min/km

Objective: Race pace training, test nutrition & mental conditioning.

Execution:  Swim – pace was pretty slow but felt OK. Bike – I struggled at the start and end of the ride with the shitty bumpy roads. Once on the open roads I was humming along nicely. 260w was requiring more concentration that I would like but was not feeling too hard.

NP 261w / HR 140bpm – bang on the money. Cadence still a touch low

Run off the bike – by far the best run of the Wanaka build. Ticking over just under 4min/km was pretty comfortable. Stupid HRM didn’t work on the run but effort felt like it would be sustainable.

Finished today feeling positive that 265w is doable on the bike with 4min/km off the bike.

 File: swim http://tpks.ws/seVwp bike http://tpks.ws/H1aQh run http://tpks.ws/eXlQQ

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SATURDAY

Session Details: TrainerRoad Baxter – steady riding on the trainer with some cadence variation

Objective: Active recovery

Execution:  I was sore and tired today from Bevan’s stag do last night although felt better once training was done

 File: http://tpks.ws/F1O8b

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SUNDAY

Session Details: Easy day with family. RUN with Felicity riding her bike. SWIM easy open water swim.

Objective: Active recovery

Execution:  There were some seriously big waves at the beach which meant I was swimming solo a long way off shore. Still managed to hit a surfer as I came in catching a wave!

I was very tired and sore today from Bevan’s wedding.

 File: run http://tpks.ws/6qpdo   swim http://tpks.ws/DHsYd

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WEEK TOTALS

DATE: week of 30th Jan

DATE: week of 30^th Jan

WEEK OBJECTIVE: Low intensity week to absorb recent training with key bike ride on Saturday

Corsair Classic race on Sunday.

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MONDAY

Session Details: 30mins core / 60-75mins settling in a 4:15-20/km (im pace)

Objective: General aerobic conditioning

Execution:  This IM pace is starting to feel easier!

 File: http://tpks.ws/Wa7wJ

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TUESDAY

SWIM ~75mins

Tri club session with plenty of drills, kicking and in/out’s.

Pretty bloody cold this morning which made it tough going.

BIKE

Session Details: Trainer session incl 3x(20mins steady / 3x1min FTP)

Objective: Aerobic conditioning

Execution:  I really like this session. It’s not hard but a few 1min FTP session wake the legs up. Feeling OK.

 File: http://tpks.ws/dKCBB

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WEDNESDAY

Session Details: Broken long run 1hr45

Objective: General endurance

Execution:  Just an easy paced long run with some hills. A bit broken as was running Thomas to football practice then picking him up

 File: http://tpks.ws/fy4CM

Missed core today

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THURSDAY

BIKE

Session Details: trainer session with 3x15mins steady aiming to hold high cadence

Objective: improving pedalling efficiency

Execution:  I hit this session well with cadence building across the 3x15mins (just under 100rpm for #1, just over 100 for #2 and 104rpm for #3). Felt pretty good but HR certainly shows that I have some work to do as it was ~IM HR despite being 10-15w under IM power.

 File: http://tpks.ws/Ziqyh

RUN OFF THE BIKE

I was just going to do 45mins trying to find a new track but completely missed it and ran a bit longer

File: http://tpks.ws/gBJpn

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FRIDAY

Session Details: SWIM 3KM+

• 300 warm up with some build up 25’s
• 1km mod hard
• 300 drills
• 3x100 IM
• 6x (100 fast / 100 easy)
• warm down

Objective: Race simulation with short warm up then into it + some fast 100’s to get speed up. 

Execution:  I felt OK today. Nice and smooth in the 1km hitting 1:25’s.

The 100’s were terribly slow despite putting in a good effort. I was hoping for 1:15’s or under and only got 1:17-18’s. Disapointing. 

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SATURDAY

Session Details:KEY WORKOUT

BIKE incl 90km @ target Half IM effort

RUN 4km off the bike at Half IM pace

BIKE 15mins warm down

Objective: Race pace training, mental conditioning, nutrition test, improve cadence

Execution:  Thankfully the holy hammer and I did a local loop for a warm up as my pedal came undone, which is a first, and it would not tighten back on. So a quick pit stop at home to set things right.

The aim was to be ~260w hoping this would be ~140HR. Another goal was to keep cadence a little higher than previous simulations.

Fuelling – toast and coke 20mins before start (5:45am kick off), caffeine tablet at start.

During – 2 bottles infinit, bite of Em’s bar, 1 gel

The outcome: 265w average with a negative split, HR 139 av, better cadence but rpm did fade a little as I got tired

The verdict – a very solid ride. Mentally a lot harder than in a race, I would not be able to sustain that level of concentration in a race and still except to run well. HR tells me this is sustainable so with a taper and race conditions I’m good to go.

Nutrition worked well. 

The run was much like the bike. HR and pace on the money but RPE was higher than what I would expect in a Half IM.

 File: http://tpks.ws/YSbk7

Run file http://tpks.ws/hMf3a

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SUNDAY

Race directing for the Corsair Classic so minimal time to train

Swim – short open water swim after pack up 

Bike home – very hot and I was completely smoked 45-60mins in the hills

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WEEK TOTALS:

Swim – 2.5 sessions = 2hrs20

Bike – 4 rides = 6hrs53

Run – 4 runs = 4hrs07

Core = 1 session