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Kia Ora guys and Merry Christmas!
At the top of any triathlete list of events is Kona and with only 10 weeks until IM Taupo we are laying some solid foundation and will begin dialling in a few solid race course simulations to fine tune my nutrition and race strategy to make sure I can give it my best shot out there in March chasing the Kona dream to make it reality. It’s funny how our ambition can change, only 5 weeks ago I was talking to my mates about setting myself up to represent New Zealand at the long distance world champs however, after recently receiving an invitation to join the age group team at Penticton, Canada in August I have decided not to take the spot and gamble on the all or nothing approach by focusing on this build to Kona. Now when I talk about chasing that Kona dream I am in no way going to target events where my chances of getting a spot are potentially higher, I recently had a few mates fire through different races throughout Asia-Pacific saying that they would give me my best shot. I know that is potentially true but, I'm not interested in traveling the world to make a dream a reality, my heart tells me, if I can't make it by racing in New Zealand or potentially at Port Mac, Australia do I really "deserve" to be there? I'm not sure if that sounds arrogant or not and in no way do I frown upon anyone that does chase qualifying spots but, after I competed and won my age group in 2014 at Putrajaya 70.3 and gave my spot up to a local he was in tears thanking me because he thought I was going to take it, I would hate to think I am taking that moment that I am chasing away from someone else locally who potentially does not have the chance to travel and race. That was by far one of my memorable moments. I was reminded of this moment when I happened to be sitting outside the roll down area at Taupo 70.3 this year and seen a guy that took my spot to 70.3 worlds who had a big grin on his face and was celebrating with his girlfriend as they lined up. It’s moments like this that make me love this sport so much and I am so thankful for the drive it had given me to rebuild my life but more importantly the friendships that have evolved because of it and contributed to my personal development. With that said, I hope everyone has an amazing holiday period and takes the time to spend it with those closest to you and make sure they know it. Until next time, “Don’t dream your life, live your dream” Robo
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Kia Ora everyone, well what a way to wrap up 2016 with two 70.3's in three weeks in Australia and New Zealand, joining what we call the "Sub 4.30 group", placing second at IRONMAN 70.3 Western Sydney and then winning my second half at IRONMAN 70.3 Taupo. What made this weekend even more amazing was once again like last year staying with my good friends Tim Ford his wife Dez, Matho and my girl friend Penny three days prior to the race to catch up with each other and have a bit of banter (I coped a fair bit of that ah-ha). Unfortunatley Azza stayed back in Brissy saving his dollars for his up coming wedding and Scotty stayed back in Brissy because his wife is due to have her second in a few weeks time but, they were there in spirit and was neat to have Scotty and "redman" skype in after the race. Congrats to Tim on placing third in the 30-34 age group and also for taking the score between us to 2-3 to me (We have another showdown at Tauranga in a few weeks but I'm sure my T2 will still be faster than his even if it is by 1seccond ;)) Also congrats on Matho for pushing through the race to cross the line, I'm looking forward to racing the full distance with this Melbourne boy in March! 2016 for me has been a year of pushing my boundaries from moving away from home, getting back into tri’s, being confident with who I am, backing myself, having a balanced life and as I reflect on where I am at I couldn't be any happier. Now, I wanted to give my coach Simon Cochrane a shout out once again and I keep saying thatbecause as per below, the numbers speak for themself. Below is a snapshot of 70.3 race data comparing Taupo last year, Port Mac in May, Western Sydney and Taupo last week.    The key to my improvements thanks to Simon have been for two reasons which I believe are;
Below is an overview on how we structured my training throughout winter for each discipline. Swimming: The key difference for me has been by investing in swimming in a squad with a coach who is passionate about the sport and seeing you improve. Typically I swim 12-15km a week in 3-4 swims with key endurance sessions being 4.5 - 5.5km and slower sessions focusing on drills being 2.8 - 3.5km A vital part of my improvements has been swimming in a group and swimming above my threshold time but sitting on feet which has helped me swimming in open water. Bike: Weekends are for long, weeks are for short and sharp is the motto in my plan, making sure I get bang for my buck on every session during the week without putting stress on me around work to promote a healthy balance. Run: Build that diesel engine is what it has been about and by being consistent week on week the base fitness continues to build an with it speed. If you want to get a hold of Simon you can do so by commenting below or via his website - www.simoncochrane.net IM 70.3 Taupo race info below; Swim Time: 28:03 min Avg Heart Rate: 163 - (4 beats lower than Sydney 70.3) Pace p/100m: 1:28 Cadence rpm: 37 - (1 rpm faster than Sydney 70.3) I have never gone under 33 minutes at Taupo so to swim 28:03 it shows how much work I have invested in my swimming and how comfortable I felt in my Orca Alpha suit. I managed to find feet to sit on for 3/4 of the swim and then push past him and two others to exit the water in 3rd Bike Time: 2:25:47 hr Avg Heart Rate: 162 - (2 beats lower than Sydney 70.3) Watts: 257 - (9 watts more than Sydney 70.3) N/Watts 266 (11 watts more than Sydney) Watts p/kg: 3.25 Cadence: 84 With a head wind heading out for the first year that I have done this race I did push too hard heading out averaging 265 watts (274 NP) but my heart rate stayed relatively low with my cadence controlling that at 84. A tight left glute made the first part of the ride uncomfortable, I skipped my pre-race massage/tune which was silly as I had a few knots which made it tough and made my LH to RH power balance uneven putting more strain onto my right leg. On the second half with a nail wind we rode more conservative which lost us some time averaging 247 watts (255 N/P) at a cadence of only 81 which is low considering the uphill drags which shows how many turns we were tacking in a group of three. Realistically I should have stuck to the plan heading out and maximized the benefit coming back and allowing for a slightly faster cadence to flush the legs but it’s great to experience this with IRONMAN NZL and no doubt a handful of tough simulations coming up in the next few months. I continued to use OSM cranberry bites which I had one every 20km from as soon as I got on the bike and upped my water intake drinking two bottles of water and a bottle and a half of electrolytes. I came off the bike in first place with a three minute gap to second place Run Time: 1:32:39 Avg Heart Rate: 170 Ave pace min/km: 4.23 Cadence: 90 On the run I clicked through the first two km too fast once again, I really do need to work on this and pulling back and settling in before powering through and with a harder bike and tighter muscles going into the race I was dealing with cramp right away in my right hamstring and quads but I gritted my teeth and pushed through. What made it special was having my mum, dad, sister and Penny there cheering me on and although I probably looked the worst I have on a run I was smiling in the inside every time I ran past them and my group of friends on the course. After the first lap I was still three minutes ahead of second place and although dropped well off pace on the second lap I managed to pull another minute to finish 3.30 - 4 minutes up and win my second 25-29 70.3 race. Total Time: 4:31:07 hour Average Heart Rate: 164 Age Place: 1st Overall Place: 27th I want to thank everyone who was there cheering me on, it makes a massive difference out there! Until next time I will leave you with my high school motto which I think is fitting. "Nihil Boni Sine Labore" - Nothing is achieved without hard work By now you would have known how well my race went in the weekend, it was a day where everything came together which my coach Simon Cochrane had planned throughout the last 6 months, it’s always such a surreal feeling when you smash your own expectations and realise how far I have come in a short time. Our plan was to Swim strong, ride strong but smart and run smart and attempt a negative split.
Now I'm not going to bore you with a race report but further down I'll give you a summary of what did/didn't work for each, a few numbers and nutrition etc. One key difference I have found with my training is that Simon has introduced a key balance between the three disciplines and I believe that's because as an athlete he himself is an all-round strong Triathlete whither it is Swimming, Biking or Running so he doesn't favour one over the other like I have seen with other coaches/mentors. Another key part is that I am at work 45 hours per week with 30 minutes traveling each way; his structure has allowed training to fit in around work and my lifestyle, with key 1 hour erg or run sessions in the evening and swim sets in the morning its quality over quantity with 13-16 hours of training per week (5-7 hours of that on the weekends) Below I have listed five items/tips that I used based on my experience at other events which I thought others may like to know to use or twist to make their own plan. 1. OSM cranberry bite bars times four on the bike which is the only nutrition I had for the race, this is because on all my training rides I have been using these and I knew they fuelled me 2. Two bottles of water plus a bottle of diluted Powerade, to stop cramps from the OSM bites I upped my water intake by a bottle which also helped in the warm humid conditions 3. A trucker hat which breaths but allows you to soak in water, fill up with ice and ultimately keep the sun off your head 4. I took my own sponge on the run to soak in water and during aid stations to keep my body temp as cool as possible. There are only a handful of events that have these available in the race and I'm glad I did, even wiping sweat and electrolytes off my face made me feel refreshed and relaxed 5. Stick to my strategy of rotating through coke and water only after the 12th km, before that I rotate through electrolytes and water and grab ice and every aidstation and stash full cups in my trisuit touse between aid stations. I know the above doesn’t seem like much but it is definitely the small things that can make the difference over long distance racing. I am now in the build up to IRONMAN 70.3 Taupo which is this weekend, I love this race in what I class as one of my home towns but, It is a super honest course with usually tough winds back on the bike but the atmosphere and stunning lake which we swim in and run along makes it all worth it! To anyone racing good luck and I’ll see you out there! P.S Massive congrats to Terenzo on winning his first ironman distance at IMWA in style, breaking the course record and finishing sub 8 boooyahhh! IM 70.3 Western Sydney race info below; Swim Time: 28:52 min Avg Heart Rate: 167 Pace p/100m: 1:32 Cadence rpm: 36 My swim went spot on for a non-wetsuit fresh water swim however, direction was helped by using the regatta lanes which were harder to see this year, I kept to my pace and swam solo which was great not to fight over water. Bike Time: 2:20:56 hr Avg Heart Rate: 164 Watts: 248 Watts p/kg: 3.14 Cadence: 84 My bike was pretty spot on 251 watt average the first lap and 246 in the second which wasn't bad considering at bike racking my Garmin decided to locked itself in software mode and I had to go by feel most of the time I pushed a little too hard on the first lap and should have been a bit more conservative with a goal of 240-250 in the first 250/260 for the second lap however; we are stoked with the result. I didn't use gels at all, I stuck to using OSM cranberry bites which I had one every 20km from as soon as I got on the bike. I found these really refreshing and the Cranberry flavour kept my mind in the game as I have a tendency to get into a trance and back off, I used Will O'Connor' advice with these and upped my water intake drinking two bottles of water and a bottle of electrolytes. Run Time: 1:31:32 Avg Heart Rate: 170 Ave pace min/km: 4.20 Cadence: 90 On the run I clicked through the first km too fast with 4 others and had to pull myself back knowing I would see them later in the race, by the 10th km I caught 3 of them passing into 2nd place. As soon as we got on the regatta by the 11th km it was really hot and windy however, the long 2.5km straight run times four times takes its toll on you so I pulled back, listened to my body and took each aid station as it came to cross the line joining the sub 4.30 club and getting second in my age group 29th overall. Total Time: 4:23:35 hour Average Heart Rate: 166 Age Place: 2nd Overall Place: 29th |
Robo118kg couch potato turned multisport fitness junky aspiring to be the best athlete that I can be and inspire others along the way. Archives
July 2018
A Massive Thanks To
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