Lactic-Haze

Ran on Blouberg beach yesterday with @mohebo What a absolutely stunning evening for a run!!

Usually we ride clockwise around the track, but the last race of the season is anti-clockwise. A bit windy but not too bad, managed to hold on and the legs felt good. Went in a few moves with some guys to stretch the group a bit. In the end I just chilled at the back and waited for the sprint. A good days training with 94km’s done in total. Not bad for a mid-week session.

I’ve been thinking about posting this a while, and decided that I need to get this off my chest. I’m fortunate in that I work for a large corporate. We have a office park with over 600 people here. The park has a small gym, where I shower after my cycling ride to work. We have a dedicated instructor, but most of the time he is interested in chatting to one of the little tarts, and not really helping those that are there to work out properly. The regulars are a mixed bunch, in no particular order.

The gym regulars:

The Bodybuilder: There used to be two guys. Quite a bit of bodyfat, but legs and arms the size of tree trunks, both working out hard. One has stopped coming to the gym regularly, one is still there. Friendly chap, minds his own business, pushes big weights. Respect to him.

The “I’m at the gym” fatties: There’s a few of them, one dude regular as clockwork. I swear in the year I’ve seen him at the gym he hasn’t lost one kg. Listens to his iPod mostly, wanders around. He’s at the gym. Heads to the canteen after gym for a toasted sarmie. He is wasting his time.

The “I want to look good instantly” crowd: In the 3years I have been using the gym I have seen them come and go like clockwork. Guys come to gym, they start training in two’s or three’s. They chat aloud and make sure the tarts see them and hear them mention “I work out to look good”. After about two weeks, they see no progress and don’t come again. Take a cue from the bodybuilder. It took him two years to get that form. Harden the fuck up!

The tart: There’s a few of them. They come around, chat a lot to the gym instructor and they use the step machine. One in particular annoys the hell out of me. Why? On Friday mornings I squeeze in a 5km run before work. She’s there on the treadmill next to me. Her pace is around 5:45m/km. She’s got the little tight outfit on, and enough makeup to make Phantom of the Opera look pale. She runs on the treadmill, by holding on to the front console!!! I kid you not. I come in, set up my workout, and start running. She will glance it me, then try release her hold on the console, only to slide back and have to grab it to hold on. She’s not running, her legs are just moving. Her strides are too long and she plants her feet so hard I fear the treadmill is going to break. Speaking to the instructor to correct her leads to a shrug. Useless!

The joys of a corporate gym…

I had a nice easy training weekend planned, coach said 2.5hrs on Saturday, so I figured I would just ride out to Llundudno, have a coffee in Camps Bay and ride back home. Then Friday afternoon, Paul and Shaun (two of my triathlon buds) got hold of me. “Dude, open water swim at Big Bay tomorrow, are you coming?” Yeah sure I thought, my coach won’t mind me adjusting it a bit.

Saturday morning I head down to Big Bay to go drink some sea water. It was a stunning day, sunshine, little wind. Quite a few IM shirts walking around, so I had a feeling it might be a good day. Shaun arrived and we registered for the Male – Wetsuit category. There was no way I was getting in to that water in just a Speedo! We listened to the briefing and then set off to the beach. Foook me was that water cold!!! And that was my first mistake of the day. I should have waded in to the water and spent a few minutes getting my body used to the cold.

The started us off and as I rushed in, my chest closed up and I felt panic. Frozen I stood as other competitors went from running in to swimming. Ok, body adjusted I swam in to the opening to get to the first marker. No proper breathing, just a head out of the water and paddling like a 6yr old in the first swim class. Through the gap and I looked ahead to see a wall of water approaching and swimmers plus the marker in it. It was the most awesome sight. Then it came for me and I was swept back a bit, and then kept going. Around the marker I steadied myself, and started swimming with another lady. Things went well until we turned around the bird island and had current to fight with. One of the safety paddle-skiers kept pointing me in the right direction, and while the going was tough I felt ok. Thanks heavens for fitness, because else I would have been in deep sh*t.

Left shoulder around the last marker and off to the beach. Just past the breaking point of the waves I attempted to stand. Not a good idea. I look behind me and this 6 foot wall of foam heads my way. So, this is what kelp feels like when it’s tossed about. Lost my goggles in the process and managed to steady myself. Eventually I found my footing and started wading out and ran to the timing marshal. “52minutes”.. ok, I’ll take that! I ran to Shaun already standing at the timing table and he chuckled as he looked at me (looking like a drowned rat). The officials wrote down my time and then it was a quick shower and off home for a bite. What a awesome swim, even if it was tough as hell!

I’ll start the race report with saying, this is one of those races I want to rather forget, but can’t. Why? Because it teaches you lessons. I was told this is a fast race, and I’ve been trying to get faster in my running. The Lion of Africa went well on a tough course and I was happy. Sunday, the BDO did not go that well. I learned to make peace with a goal not met, and to take the lesson, chill out, enjoy the ride.

Back to the report. Woke up at 4am, had breakfast and then drove to the start. Over Ou Kaapse Weg it was windy and misty and the weather looked shit. Eventually found parking, only to have to walk another 2.5km to the start line. Walked and then ran a bit to warm up with three other 21km entrants.

Picture from Action Photo website. I'll buy the original come payday!

They set us off and I felt ok, wind in the back and managing a decent 5:20/km. At Fish Hoek circle we headed to Sun Valley and the wheels came off a bit. My chest hurt, and while I wasn’t sick, something didn’t feel right. I started slacking off a bit, and eventually was matching the pace of another runner just to prevent myself from walking. We hit Black Hill and a solid headwind, and I managed not to walk, while a ton of other people walked it. It was still heavy going and not fun. Eventually went over the top and I was in a group trying to make some time on the downhill. Along the way I chatted to another triathlete I’ve met through the various events. The way back to Simonstown was in to the wind, and no matter how much I willed the legs, they were just not happy, and I could not get under 6mins/km.

Eventually I crossed the line at 2h02m02s for the 21km, not a happy puppy, but glad the race was over. That one hurt, and I realised I might have set some goals a but high for IM. The positive from it was it came at the end of a very heavy 3 week training block that included 2 x 21km half’s, loads of cycling and a ITU distance triathlon. Now to rest this week, enjoy life a bit, and then head in to the next block before starting to taper towards IM SA in 2 months time. Excited but very very scared!

I thought I would save my hip I injured at last weekends 21km half by just riding in the slower +1 bunch. Nope, was not to be, and we only got caught by the fast ’scratch’ group in the last lap. Hard day on the bike and some seriously good miles in the bank.

I did get a chance to try out my new Orca triathlon shorts. Awesome! Need a padded saddle though

Ran the 21km Lion of Africa Half Marathon on Saturday as part of my IM 2010 prep. Another hilly course through Constantia that really ate the legs and didn’t let up until about the last 3km. I did manage to run with a legend, mr. Chet Sainsbury. Reading up it seems he organised the Two Oceans for 27 years! In talking to him during the run it turns out he has done 28 Two Oceans marathons in his time. He was running with another mate of his (I can’t remember the name) who has done 30 Two Oceans marathons. Much respect.

The interesting thing was watching them run and pace themselves, especially towards the end. Guys would come running past and on the slightest uphill we would catch them again. I just kept following the legend, and finished the 21.95km in 1h58mins. The 310XT made sure I was doing the correct pacing the whole way and I can’t imagine running without it now.

Ok, maybe not the very first one, but the first one I attended. The boys were on fire!! I decided to start in the usual fast group and hung out near the back. Usually not a good idea as some idiot always loses a wheel and then you have trouble getting over the gap back to the bunch. I lasted about 45 or 50minutes, and then did two laps cruising around the track before heading home. The legs felt good, but I have absolutely no explosive power, just long steady state power. Finished the day with just over 3hours training and 98km in the legs. Not bad for a Wednesday

It was WP Triathlon Champs on the weekend, but the nice folks at TSA allowed non-TSA members to enter and just take out temp licenses for the day. Only thing was that we would need to start at the back of the groups and would not be eligible to get chosen for SA’s…not that this bothered me in the least since I was bound to be in the back half of the finishing field anyway. They also had different starting groups, and I would be in the 20-39 male group.

Another day in the washing machine!

The route was nearly a copy of the one in December, except that they put an extra marker in the water, lengthening the swim by maybe 50m, and the bike route was a little different. The run, a tough 3.3km loop would be the same as the last time. The previous time at Mykonos was a learning experience. I had a few duathlons under my belt but not a triathlon, and I made a lot of mistakes. Those were all files for experience and I promised myself I would improve on those mistakes.

The water was about 2′C colder on Saturday and I made a point of actually swimming out to one of the markers on the course as a warm-up and not just jump in the water like last time. Warmed the right muscles and got used to the cold. Swam out with another competitor and showed him the markers etc. We got out, went to the briefing spot and jumped back in the water again. I felt much calmer and soon the whistle went. I found a pair of feet to follow and had a really good swim, getting through the first lap without getting hit, dunked, swum over or anything. By lap two of the swim the field had spread a little, but I was in a steady stream of bodies, instead of being out there on my own at the back like last time. I just concentrated on getting my stroke right, breathing correctly and soon I was out of the water trying to get my wetsuit off.

In the transition there was still folks changing, and people coming in behind me. Big confidence booster vs last time when I was on my own there. Strip the wetsuit off, pour some water over me to rinse off and get my cycling shoes and helmet on. Another mistake I didn’t make was being in the right starting gear this time (53×21 this time), and soon I was out on the road on the bike. The course was a bit windier than last time but I just put my head down, checked my heart rate and did my thing. My heart rate was lower than last time, and I was doing the same speed. This is good. As per last time I started catching people soon, and just powered through the wind. On the second lap it was starting to get a bit noticeable, but being my strength, I had to put it to good use. Two laps done, turn in to the Mykonos Casino again down to the transition area and park the bike. Running shoes on, grab a gel, and start my run.

The run was a tough bugger and I just tried to follow as many feet as I could before letting them go. There are some really fit people out there! I love my Garmin 310XT! I just kept checking the pace and would force myself a little faster if I started fading. Greeted a few familiar faces on the course like the Urban Ninja and kept going at 5min30sec/km. On the 3rd lap, Mari Rabie (winner of the 70.3 in East London) came running past me like I was standing still and I just had to chuckle. Amazing talent in this country! The run felt a lot better than last time, and before I knew it I was running down the finishing chute having done another proper ITU triathlon.

Total time: 2h40m (7mins better than December via improved transitions+better performance in the different disciplines)

Swim: 32mins (1min improvement, while the top guys took 2mins longer)

Cycle: 1h06min (my HR was lower than in December and I shaved a minute off the time)

Run: 56mins (cut down 4mins from time in December)

I had a very interesting ride on Sunday morning. Birthday party of a friend the night before and had one glass of red wine too many and thus was not feeling 100%. The people I was supposed to ride with was also not at the meeting spot so it was me and the iPod on the way to Llundudno. Along the way I spotted a dude riding in a IM top, and started chatting to him. He is doing his 3rd IM this year and gave me some sage advice. “Respect the distance”.. We spoke a bit more and from all accounts, my training is on the right track.

This morning I was reading up, especially on the blog of Joe Friel. All my friends with the PowerTap devices live by Joe’s advice and training, and my coach also references him once a while on my cycling training. Much to my surprise he also knows a thing or two about IronMan training. I read the following on his blog, and it really gave me hope that I might just finish IM in PE this year.

“If you’ve never run 26.2 miles before doing a marathon may help with the mental issues, especially if you just run it slow and easy. But physiologically speaking, running for a fast marathon time and running the final leg of an Ironman are otherwise not similar. Your pace in an Ironman run will be very slow by your marathon racing standards. The training to race a marathon would be greatly different also. That is not the way you train for an Ironman run. Then there are the issues of time spent training for a marathon in regards to swim and bike training time (cycling for most is really the critical sport in an Ironman), and also the time needed to recover from a marathon with an upcoming Ironman.”

What do you think is a good average run volume for someone training for a low 12hrs Ironman?

“Volume is not a critical measure of preparation for an Ironman run. More important is the duration of your longest run/walk. I’d suggest this to be 3 hours even if you believe your split will be around 4.5 hours. Two other runs during the week may be short (less than an hour) in order to build and maintain some level of running economy. So, indirectly, I’d say the answer to your question probably works out to be 4-5 hours at the peak volume of training. The single most important element of preparing for the run is to become as fit as you can on the bike. That will allow you to hold back on the ride yet still produce an acceptable time and have the legs left to go 26.2 miles.”

Wooh! Joe Friel may just have put my mind at rest regarding my IM in PE!