Go Hard

It is a struggle to think of yourself as a triathlete when you aren't racing triathlons. The idea of being race ready for the multisport disciplines is good, but at the moment my passion isn't quite there for the training. There is a massive amount of work needed for the bike, and I know I won't be happy with the level of swimming I can realistically expect. Even if my riding reached it's highest level ever, I never would feel fit unless my run was up to standard. It is the sign of true runner, that you must be run fit to feel fit. Looking ahead at possible races points out I am definitely a runner. Even the low key, low priority running races fill me with excitement. It is some thing I am not getting from looking ahead at triathlons. Even if it wasn't easier logistically for my life to fit run training in over triathlons, it just feels right to focus on the running. Add to that I am running at my best levels ever on substantially lower volume. The official results...

The half marathon at the Sri Chinmoy Williamstown Fitness and Running Festival has featured a lot in all my years of running. Yet again, I entered. In line with my recent thoughts, it would be an ideal launch to going back to a running focus. It is a race and course I know very well, and with plenty of results to compare to, it should give me an accurate guide to where I am at. No heart rate monitor (sent off for a battery replacement). That set the tone for a bit of old school racing. Keeping with that theme I wore the old Jones Cycles Tri Club jacket just to get in the mood. It was something I needed, since when my alarm went off I first thought I was at work and had to respond to a call. Not exactly the most pleasant way to wake up. Conditions were perfect. No wind, cloud cover and a temperature range of 9-12 degrees Celsius. I felt okay from my warm up, but not particularly quick. Over the two weeks since the VRR half marathon, I hadn't performed any significant training that...

I missed out on the entries for the Shepparton 70.3. The event sold out in only about five hours. With a field cap of 1000, it is very different to when I was racing these events regularly. No longer is the field in the 300's (cracking 600 was big) and you could enter almost right up to the day. Triathlon has changed. As a result I'm forced to rethink what I will do. The two main possibilities for me are the Canberra 70.3 in December, which still has room, or the Sri Chinmoy Peace Triathlon Long Course, in October, also placed in Canberra. I might have other commitments that could impose on the 70.3, so am thinking this might not be the best option. The Sri Chinmoy race, was definitely one of my favourites from the past. With a distances of 2.2/80/20 it is old school, as I believe the set up still is. So that is appealing. What is unappealing is the race only fielded 48 finishers last year, which definitely didn't include the elites. Very different from the 1999 race that h...

While my goal for training is to achieve a good level of consistency, this is far from what I have achieved. There has been plenty of missed sessions, reduced intensity and distances cut short. Sleep, or the lack off , is the biggest challenge for maintaining any level of consistency. There has been a few things that have taken away quality sleep. An extra night shift at work, plus incidental overtime, and some interruptions during the night prevents that deeper restoration. While I can function for short periods on reduced sleep, I definitely need 6.5-7 hours to function close to my best. I haven't been achieving this, and the without the option for a couple of genuine catch-ups, I hit a period, where the need for sleep took over, and I slept through my morning training sessions. As a result, coming into the VRR Westerfolds Park Half Marathon, I really wondered what sort of condition I would be in. Would the reduced training result in an under par performance, or would I be taper ...

From recent races it has been clear my running has been close to it's best. It definitely is the best it has been in years. However, my swimming and cycling is a long way from that level. In fact it has been about a decade since my last peak in the latter two disciplines. If I still want to aim for a personal best at the half ironman distance this summer, then I have a lot that needs improving. I don't really need to improve my basic running, but I do need to improve my ability to use the run after swimming and cycling. Due to time and life constraints I have resigned to that fact there is only so much time I can spend watching the black line. Within that framework I will get what I can get out of it. As for cycling, I believe I can find a lot of improvement. So I am making an effort to do just that. A decade earlier I got the best out of myself on two wheels by putting in lots of kilometres. At least one very long ride each week, a moderate hard ride plus heaps of commuting, g...

It's been over a week since my last post, yet it only feels like a couple of days. Getting to the blog, has been bumped down on the list of priorities a number of times by various things. Since these have been varied, I'll get into the training side of things. Following the Run For The Kids, I had the usual soreness and fatigue, but thought I coming good just a few days after. Unfortunately I must have been fighting some sort of illness as my requirement for sleep, soon felt ridiculous and I decided to give the a couple days of training a miss. On the third day I was feeling good, but the family was experiencing the same thing, so again training was pushed to the side. Since then I have gotten back to almost my full routine of triathlon training. A couple of swim sessions have been missed, but all the leg work has been done. For my mindset, it is probably a good thing that I'm making an effort not to worry about the numbers of training too much. My main focus at this stage ...