City of Rockingham Triathlon - Race One... plus other stuff

Ok.. so the first race in four odd years went well I thought... The official results just came in...

Swim (740m) 00:17:14               Pace 22:59min/km
Cycle (20km) 00:40:23               Pace 29.7km/hr
Run (5km)     00:28:54                Pace 5:46min/km

So I came out of the water 37th (in my age group), came off the bike in 40th and then finished 46th on the run.

Finish Time
	01:26:32 HH : MM : SS Overall : 406 Gender : 288 Category : 46

I'm happy with the results... might have helped if I'd not rode for 86kms the day before... but this series is just training for the Half in May 2010. To be completely honest and to put it in perspective.. i was 46th out of a possible 52 for my age group.

So i was 288th out of 340 male competitors overall... (though it doesnt include the DSQ and DNF's)

406th out of 474 competitors (M&F) (though it doesnt include the DSQ and DNF's)
The average time over the whole field was 1:15:54
The fastest time was 55:31

I am going to try and get the times for when I raced back in 2004/05 as a comparison!


And finally some pics from the day!

Bling!

Once again another post about bling...

 I'd been coverting J's Oval Concepts A701 Bars for a while due mostly to the sbend extensions and the shorter wide grips compared to my Profile Design Carbon Strykes. The negative withe the OC A701's is the apparent inability to get a narrow position on the aero pads and extensions

I just can't justify a $3-500 outlay for a new set of bars so Ebay has once again been the enemy/ saviour and I have ended up purchasing a Pair of Profile Design T2+ Cobras for $100. The advantages I can see is the ability to bring the position further back, they look to be a more natural position for me, more aero and a direct swap off my old aeros

Tick Tock

Been a little while since the last post....

Finally the Half entry has a definate opening date! Tuesday 15th at 0001hrs so it looks like an early/late one for me that night. Busselton Half Ironman

Other news... Running is going well... getting some good distance without any pain..
I had been feeling quite fatigued but I started taking some Magnesium supplements and have noticed a lot less discomfort in the ride, so much so that the 40km on monday was comfortable (though I wasnt pushing it). I guess the interesting test will be tomorrow morning when I go for my first run. Unknown as yet how far or fast.. be either one or two laps of the walking track.

Other than that I went down to the Busso Ironman on the weekend, was a humbling site, can't wait for my turn.

Honda North - Pure Blonde Pursuit Series

Last night I took the plunge and entered the Pure Blonde Pursuit Series - 5 races of sprint distance.... 750m swim, 20km Ride, 5km Run (or crawl as the case may be).

The links below all take you to the respective races which detail the location and how the races are done.

The blurb from the Tri Series WA website

The Pure Blonde Pursuit Series is staged over typical sprint and olympic distances and is aimed at fit begineers through to the professional triathlete.

Race One	City of Rockingham Triathlon (including the WA Sprint Distance Championships)	December 20, 2009
Race Two	City of Perth Triathlon (including the WA Olympic Distance Championships)	January 31, 2009
Race Three	Hillarys Triathlon #1	February 14, 2009
Race Four	Champion Lakes Triathlon	March 14, 2009
Race Five	Hillarys Triathlon #2	April 11, 2009

The week that was

Hey all...

A lazy Sunday morning so far (it's only early) but I have a Brick session planned with Jam Master J later, which will be the first real ride of my new rims...

... which I picked up yesterday after a 46km ride around the river.

Its been an active week with swimming 1.5km, running 6.8km, PT session on Weds, Brick today, prob another swim tomorrow. All in all.. pretty good. The Suunto t6c is a huge help though since the program has decided to increase my Activity Class to 7.5 (from 6) the TE is harder to get higher... but I'm feeling a lot fitter for it.

And for the horse lovers out there

Some good info from the Beginner Triathlete Clydesdale forums

Aero Wheels

J and I have been looking around at some carbon fibre wheels Reynolds, Zipp, Shimano etc but I still can't seem to be able to justify the $2000 price for what appears to be a limited benefit.

Most articles such as this and this suggest that there is little time saved in spending the cash but then others say that the wheels are the best. AAAArrrrrrrrrggggghhhhhh. I'm NOT.... EVER.... GOING.... TO.... WIN.... A... TRI.... so how about some advice for us normal people who want to do it well but have not aspiration to win!

Booked in

Ok so the hammer is down.... just had leave approved for the 27th April til 4th May... Which means i'm good to go for the Busso Half. The registration for Busso begins in December!

Dug through the TriWa website today and planned some events...
The first tri will be 20th December (Rockingham Triathlon) - 750m Swim/20km Cycle/5km Run
then it'll be the 28th March (Honda North OD Triathlon) - 1.5km Swim/40km Cycle/10km Run
plus there is bound to be a few fun sprint distance tri's in there

I've dropped about 1.5% body fat as well!

A few big firsts.

Life since getting back in has been pretty good. Had a huge ride on Thursday (45.75kms - the longest in a number of years), half of which was with J. I'd intended for the first half to be a sedate warmup but as what usually happens it turned into a bit of a speed session.

To cut a long story short I ended up spanking along with a guy wearing an Ironman Switzerland jersey who subsequently blew me away, though did get a nice comment as he passed by.

Swam Friday but ran on Saturday from J's to Leopold - Blackwall reach - Water Polo Club - Yacht Club - J's for 6.16kms. This again is the first long run I've done in a while.

A light ride concentrating on cadence (90-100 avg'd 86) yesterday for 22kms.

Feel pretty good, tight in the mid calves but otherwise awesome!

Realisations

Just in from the second workout of the day. Was up at 5am in prep for the Emergency Services Sunday morning workout (circuit and pool) followed by a day of Rope Rescue and finished at a little after 1800hrs and was feeling very... very flogged. Dinner and feet were up, but the funny thing is, my program was sitting there accusing me.

So I did what I had to.. drag myself up off the seat and go for a run/jog/walk at 2030hrs... which brings me to the point of this entry... I'm here at 2030hrs after being awake for 15.5hrs with no one else in the gym pounding away. This is what my life will consist of for the foreseeable future. Hours of solitary training, but I was happy with the thought of where I am going to be in 6months, happy with my commitment to it, to not making the excuses that I had already worked out today.

Take care all. Strive for your dreams.

Oh yeah... about those sheep...

My big motivational quote has been lurking around for about 7 years or so, I found it whilst trolling the internet and it struck a chord in me...

I always imagine a very Samuel L. Jackson/ Pulp Fiction sorta voice
Here it is...

I was not delivered unto this world in defeat, nor does failure course in my veins.
I am not a sheep waiting to be prodded by my shepherd.
I am a lion and I refuse to talk, to walk, to sleep with the sheep.
I will hear not those who weep and complain, for their disease is contagious.
Let them join the sheep.
The slaughterhouse of failure is not my destiny.
- Og Mandino

Heart Rate Monitoring

Following the wisdom of J, the instigator of this madness, I have purchased a new HRM - a Suunto T6c... very nice HRM which will replace a decrepit Polar.

A good review/comparison between the T6c and Garmin 405

A good article on HR Measurement and HR Training

And so it begins...

Yesterday I made the fatal mistake that I'm sure most if not all of us have made at some time in our lives. I made a snap decision whilst talking with a close friend to complete a half ironman in seven months time.

So lets put this in perspective... it's just a triathlon - swim, cycle and run - no biggy right... except for the 1.9kms of swimming, followed by 90km of cycling and then a leisurely 21km of running.... to be completed in a maximum of 7.5hours. I'm currently 6'4 (194cm), 112kg, moderately active.

So basically this will be a personal diary of what happens in the next 7 months. Stay tuned.

So it begins