2013/2014 season and Melbourne Australia

The start of 2014 was really an extension of 2013 for me. I only had a 2 week break after Kona 2013 and even then I was quite disciplined, keeping active and being careful with nutrition. I didn’t do my usual month off, hitting the self-destruct button.

It meant I was in good shape come January but some sickness and injury followed before an aggressive and desperate attempt to regain fitness for Melbourne in March. I was in Lanzarote and going well in all disciplines, but a track session with Owen Cummins put paid to that after an 8*800 ended with the torn Achilles and me out for 5 weeks, looking unlikely to start in Melbourne. I was going to Melbourne anyway as the trip was a visit to Sarah’s family and homeland, but if I could somehow get back in to shape for mid-March then racing there was still a possibility. Kona qualifying was becoming a distant thought after consultation with the sports doc, but as each week went by I got some more movement and 4-5 weeks later I tried a run, it was nervous and awkward, but I was running and my confidence grew from there, racing became a possibility again.

At the start of February I rode to Henley on a cold day with 6 layers on, it was a race simulation that I normally carry out in summer conditions, it was tough and my immune system took a bashing. I woke up the next day with a cold and stomach bug, the bug was gone in 4 days but it left me intolerant to some forms of dairy and wheat among other food types. The symptoms include headaches and lethargy, but the main issue is power and energy levels in training. I’m still trying to understand this but I am learning each week and it has opened my eyes to the deep world of nutrition intolerances. Anyway it made Aus prep more complex, but I made it to the start line.  

Ironman Melbourne race report 2014

You could say my IM Melbourne race report was late, but then it almost never happened at all, with travelling in Aus, then work taking over I got distracted, so it was forgotten about completely!  
I was disappointed after the race, but my fitness going in to it probably meant it was never going to be a big performance, Alan had pointed out that my fitness numbers were 10% down on late 2013, but stubbornness had me thinking I was still going to race well regardless. Of course Alan and the numbers were correct, and I struggled. I qualified for Kona but it was a tough day and it hurt me physically and mentally.

 

Short version:
 
Swim (calm/cloudy) – 59 (nervous start but felt good/relaxed after few mins)
Bike (cloudy/windy) – 4:58 (felt just ok, not special, power dropped near end)
Run (sunny/hot) – 3:11 (felt good for 15-18miles – then fell apart!)
Overall: 9:16
Position: 13/431

Long version:

I went in to Melbourne very pensive, I was swimming well with the club, but in Aus I struggled with my stroke and generally felt tired. Jetlag was part of it no doubt, but I had been struggling with the food intolerances since February which was hitting energy levels. On race day I was very nervous before the swim, the Aussies have a big reputation as strong swimmers.

 

I got away well and stayed just left of the main pack behind a good guide, this guy kept me out of trouble, then I swapped feet a few times from the first buoy. I stayed comfortable and came out in 59 even though it was measured long on the day.

Good start to the day but the bike was a heavier effort than I expected, the way out was fast, and for good reason, the way back was a full on headwind. I used the power meter and tried to work with a couple of guys in a paceline but was left exposed as the others didn’t hold the pace I was pushing back in to town.

I was disappointed to see a huge pack come by near the end of the first lap. There were about 50 of them and a big unfit looking guy right in the middle not pedalling at all, on a road bike! Anyway as you do with big packs, I let them go ahead, anyone with a power meter knows why it is unwise to try ride around them. They seemed to split up end of first lap anyway and I didn’t see any large groups after that. Annoyingly there was 2 motorbikes riding alongside this pack but they didn’t seem to do much about it.

Things thinned out a bit in the 2^nd lap and I again tried to organise a pace line with 5-6 guys on the way back against the wind. I seen the pros doing it perfectly, but with us there was one guy who kept screwing it up by dropping in right in front of others within the draft zone, I tried to explain the paceline to him and how to keep it legal, but he didn’t seem to get it, and kept infringing, so I told him to get lost in the nicest possible way, he disappeared after that. I got back in to town disappointed with 4:58 but as with Ironman, it’s still early days, now lets see if I have any running legs!

 

Going on to the run I felt ok but my stomach and feet were uncomfortable. I was running well for the first ½ of the marathon, pacing back and forward with an aussie guy who was moving well, we were at around 3hr pace. At half way I still felt ok, legs and breathing fine, but mentally I remember thinking, jes, same again!? not a good sign. From there each km seemed to take forever and after 25k I really started to feel the distance, and cramps started to appear. At around 27k I slowed at an aid station to get some extra carbs and take on some salt, but that was the turning point, I never really got going again. I couldn’t get back to the pace I had been on and I watched as the guy disappear off in front, and it became another war of attrition to reach the finish line.

I had done a lot of good work til that point so the next guys in my AG were well back thankfully. I shuffled to the line in 13^th and was very glad to see Sarah and her family all there smiling and shouting at me, felt like it took forever to get to that point but boy was I glad to be finished. Turned out I was well inside qualifying time, but extremely frustrated about the melt down. It was the 3^rd time in as many races that I fell apart in the latter stages of the marathon.

With these bad finishes, in each case there have been problems in the build, sickness, injury, etc, so there is usually an explanation. I am sometimes reluctant to accept a lack of fitness (because I feel good), so I pace it as normal and pay the price. My race day brain is in a different state than my resting brain! but I hope this is the last time I make this mistake.

I qualified for Kona again which was the main goal for the race, yet I am so competitive that it hurt to finish so far back from where I wanted to be, afterwards Alan prescribed a month of down time, as I hadn’t taken a full break after kona 2013. I fought with him on this for some time before giving in to his analysis and common sense. I always struggle against losing fitness and eventually Alan’s numbers and common sense comes out trumps. He asked me to pull out from Roth, which I reluctantly did. Now 2 months on and with fitness building again, it feels like it was the right thing to do. With 4 blocks still to go for Kona, I have time and motivation is strong. As he always says, if you want to get fit, stop racing! Not easy for us competitive/active types, but we sometimes have to obey the numbers.

With these intolerances, my diet is pretty close to Paleo for athletes, it is lactose/gluten/wheat/processed free and I feel a lot better for it. I have more expendable energy for training and work. I currently have no injuries, no sickness, and I am learning each week how to better deal with these intolerances and fuel for the training. For now, with CTL building, it’s all guns blazing for Kona no.5!

Thanks as always to my sponsors who supported me through the year, Champion System, Vita Coco, Kinga from Soft Tissue Therapy and Neovite.

2014 thoughts and the season Ahead

As of now June 2014, I am not racing at all until Kona in October. This could change, but I am working with Alan with the aim of a top 10 in Hawaii. My best yet is 19th, but this will be the first time I have not raced close to Kona, and if I can avoid injury/illness then this will be the first time I've had a consistent build to race day. All being well we are heading for life best CTL values after a relatively high start point in May. After pulling out from Roth I am still aiming for a PB attempt at some stage in the future, but it will have to be 2015 by now. Roth or Sweden are potential candidates as they seem to produce the fastest results in IM distance. I am racing Ironman Cozumel in Mexico in November, the idea being to qualify early for 2015 using my 2014 Kona legs, after a short break we'll do another build and try tick the box a year in advance - leaving me open for 2015. Aging up in category this year does not seem to have dropped the pace at all and I have some very fast people to compete with. Motivation is as strong as ever and I have many fast guys older than me to use as inspiration, Owen Martin and Alan Ryan to name a few.

I've recently thought a lot about what I want from the sport, apart from the obvious benefits of being and feeling fit and healthy. I also see it as a lifestyle thing, not something I am in to do short term, to hit a few goals and move on, but to have it as part of my life for as long as possible, forever if I can! I swim with an Aussie guy called Russell, he is in his late 50s and he has been on the podium in Kona. He is fitter and has a better attitude than many 25 year olds I know, but he takes it all in his stride and is always smiling. It's an attitude thing and I think it's a good way to think going forward.

In the meantime I am trying to adapt my sports attitude to other parts of life, family/relationships, work, learning. To constantly try to improve things, any failures of the past are in the past, this life is short and there aint no second chance. I read everything Alan and Gordo Byrn publish, and try to read and think outside the box as much as possible (sorry for the cliche!). I am trying to get stuff done, the way Sarah does, no faffing around.

I know there are many bigger issues in the world outside our comfie middle class luxury hobbies, but while we are aware and try to help and support those in need, we might as well do it while improving our own outputs and aim for happiness. Those in power (governments and the super rich) do and will for a long time in the future screw the rest of the world over, especially the poor (i.e. most of the worlds population), but for now we can use our priveleged sober position to think straight and help out where we can. With the emergence of Wikileaks and the internet as an enabler for many people to communicate their mistreatment, we can silently protest in numbers... and we can still do this while participating in our selfish hobbies. Anyway enough philosophy from me, I better get back to work!