Huski Weekend Part II

Sunday rolled around pretty quick, I woke hoping that I had done enough the afternoon before to minimise the hurt from the race previous. I gotta say, the body didn't feel all that bad, there was some tiredness in general but there wasn't anyone spot that was sore or any little niggles, so I figured there was some hope that I might be able to finish the race. This was my first long course race since Gold Coast half Ironman, October of last year, it was going to be interesting to say the least.

The swim start was fairly sedate compared to the other starts that I'm used to in the shorter formats, not that I was complaining. The group stayed together until the first buoy then it slowly broke apart - which was weird as there was no surges of any kind, one minute I was sitting on someones feet and then the next thing open water. In my group there was 3 of us and we set a fairly comfortable pace which was nice (during this pace setting we swam side by side, breathing in unison at time and you would think with all that ocean out there that you could get some space while you were swimming. Not, we kept on hitting each other the whole way round) we didn't loose to much time to guys in front and I came out of the water feeling fairly fresh ready for the ride.

The ride started off bad, coming out of transition I lost a water bottle, I stopped to pick it up, put it back in the water bottle cage and it fell it out again, needless to say it stayed there. The beauty of racing open is there is no one on the roads while you are riding, which meant the 2 other guys that I was riding with could work together and try and chase the guys down. We worked like a well oiled machine, as if we had been Team Time Trialing together for awhile (Phil pay no attention to that last statement). Unfortunately the bad luck didn't stop for me, I lost a second bottle - the one with my nutrition in it, which leads me to a digress for a bit, don't put your eggs in one basket, always have a backup plan. I lost my nutrition with still 60km to go on the bike and no gels to see me through, I can hear people say "they supplied some there" but they only supply electrolytes which as I will tell you is not going to get you through 82km's on the bike and then 20km's of running. I came off the bike gingerly and feeling drained, empty and not knowing if I was going to be able to finish the run.

The legs very wobbly at the start of the run and the quads were starting to cramp. I had to find a pace that would allow me to run, without walking, to finish the race. Happily I found that pace and away we went. Using the aid stations fully, I was grabbing coke and electrolyte every time and when they finally brought on the lollies I was grabbing all 3 every time. I can safely say that my stomach wasn't liking me at the end of the race but my legs didn't stop moving and I was able to get through the race without walking (although at times I sure my running would have looked liked a walk to the spectators). The beauty of the run at Huski is that it is 2 two laps and there are that many aid stations that you can break the run up into sections which takes your mind off the overall distance.

I finished the race in a time of 4hr 9min and placing 12th, a little ways off the pace but happy knowing that I finished without walking and I had a weekend of training that will hopefully see me in good sted for Nationals in 2 weeks at Mooloolaba.

I would like to thank the guys and gals at Elite Energy (www.eliteenergy.com.au) for putting on this event. It was another success and hopefully it will grow to be one of the premier races on the calender. I would also like to say thank you to the Huksi locals for turning out and supporting the whole weekend, without your support this weekend wouldn't be possible.

Huski weekend Part I

Well it was on again the Huski Tri Fest. The weather and the people turned up for what proved to be another successful weekend of racing and another big weekend for myself (which the jury is still out on whether its a good idea to do races in as many days). But here goes. Saturday morning was the Pro Tour, and the guys and girls didn't disappoint (I hope), there were a few big hitters turn up - such as Kemp, Aernouts, Choi for the guys and Norton and Luxford for the girls - to get some race practice in before the the ITU season kicks off in Sydney in April. This made for a fun and tough race, all the young guys were out to prove a point and me, I was out to hang on as best I could and not come last (which is always the goal in these races).

The swim was like any other, fast and furious and didn't let up until the end. I came out of the water in a small group about 30sec done on the lead pack. The race then started in earnest, on the bike. Where I started to chase down the lead pack. Mr Aernouts and one other caught up in the first 5km, which made the chase a little easier, not much but a little because I got say the man can ride, he did a lot of the work and pushed it all the way until we caught the second group on the road with about 6km to go. The pace didn't ease off by any means - it felt like I was in a road race, flat knacker the whole way only this time I was hoping the legs would hold together for the run.

Then what do you know along came the run and we were off. The legs held together better than expected and I managed to catch one guy on the run and hold off another who was catching. With all the injury woes I've encountered this season (not making any excuses here, any injury is, 95% of time preventable from the start) I was very happy that the body held together for this race, my time was down a little, but I was happy that I could finally see some improvement and glad knowing that there is still more improvement to come. I finished in a time 1.01 and finished 10th. Then the worry and self preservation started., hoping that I would recover in time for the next day's Open long course

What do you do inbetween races?

That's right you do some more racing. In between races it's a good idea to get involved with your local cycle club and get some road racing under your belt. While in a triathlon you are usually holding back slightly in the ride saving your legs for the run, which means you are riding within yourself and at a steady pace. During a road race there is no holding back, its all or nothing from the start otherwise you loose the pack and it'll be a long lonely road till the finish. My last race was just this, flat knacker from the gun. With tight corners mix in a little rain provides for an interesting race. I managed to stay with the pack for the most part until the 4 laps -about 20km - where I just couldn't hold the bike in a straight line going around the corner, it felt like I was riding on ice, so I dropped off the back slightly and just tried to keep the same pace for the rest of the race. It wasn't too bad, a good time trial workout.

Callala Bay open water swim

As always these days, there is an open water swim before a triathlon, just for a bit of fun and sometimes can be a good way to blow out some cobwebs or just good for a recky for the next days race. This open water swim was 1000m, which in respect to the training we do isn't all that much. But when your used to chasing that black line day in day out and you turn up for the swim to see the wind is up, the weather has come in and threatening to rain and there is a 2-3ft swell hitting the beach that 1000meters changes dramatically to something resembling a massive 5km set from hell.

Fortunately the swim didn't out to be all that bad, it was actually fun. The beach had an easy entrance with no surprises under the water and you could get out relatively easy, the biggest drama was the dumpers coming through - you just had to time it right. There was a nice current running up the beach which helped out quite nicely, so there wasn't too much thrashing and bashing the water. Coming back into the beach for the finish, if you timed it right, again, you could catch a nice little wave and body surf it in.

A nice group of 45 people turned up to enjoy this little paddle and by the looks on their faces as they came out of the water, they all agreed that is was tough but enjoyable. My swim was relatively comfortable, coming out of the water 2nd overall and 1st in age.

Has winter come early??

Unfortunately with the fickle weather that the south coast of NSW tends to deal us, it makes training on the roads a little tricky and very unpleasant at times. As in the case of today I had to pull out and dust off the cobwebs of the home trainer and try and get a descent set on the bike in the comfort of the lounge and hope there is something good on TV to watch while you work up a nice sweat. The benefits of getting home trainer session in, sometimes out ways the benefits of actually geting out on the road. There is some conjecture - depending who you ask - between the relationship of time on the home trainer (HT) to time on the road (R). It can vary from 1hr HT = 2hr R or 1hr HT = 1.5hr R or even 1hr HT = 1hr R. Either way the control of your pedalling and hips throughout your session are invaluable and will aid your training/racing once you get back on the road.

Say hello to my little friends

Once the Christmas holidays are done and dusted and all your left with is the chrissy cheer around the hips, all you want to do is get your arse back in the saddle and work it off. Only problem is that this time of year its either raining, windy, humid and nice and warm or if your really lucky it'll be a combination of all four - like it has been over the last week. Don't get me wrong, I love the heat and humidity and much prefer it over wet and cold, but when your riding everyday, you start to get a bit tender in places that are best not mentioned (but you can use your imagination) and you require something to give a bit of relief and here it is - Beljum Budder. This fantastic cream helps soothe the current saddle sores, relieves the rubbing, stops the chaffing and helps prevent the sores from coming back.

When using it don't be sigh, splash it in there and give it a good rub, you won't be disappointed.

Here is a my other little friend. We all know about the

joys of compression garments, some say they work

some say they don't but I'm gunna have to say that

they do. After a hard days training I've been relaxing in

my Linebreak compression shorts and calf guards

and even wearing them to bed. There's nothing better

than waking up in the morning and having little to no

soreness in the legs and feel like you can do it all over again.

I'm going to have to put a little plug in here for Linebreak and say that the quality of the garment is far better than other compression garments that I have used in the past. They hold there tightness really well - I'm still on my first pair and it's been just under 2 years now. A definite must for the semi serious athlete.

Nowra Pro Tour

For the first Pro Tour race, I didn't have the training I would have liked, but hey what ya gunna do. The main aim was not to come last. The week leading up to the race was pretty terrible, weather wise, It was windy with a bit of rain thrown, which was not going to lend for an enjoyable race. Come race day, it was calm, dry and sunny. The river wasn't real flash, pretty dirty and a fair whack of weeds floating around. The start of the swim went pretty well, until about 3/4 of the way around when i tightened up slightly and lost the feet of the lead pack, coming out of the water 40 sec behind them.

Luckily I came out of the water with 3 others, which made for a nice little group on the bike.

We worked well on the bike together, taking turns as if we have ridden together for a while, which was nice - sometimes you get the clingons in your group, which doesn't help when you are trying to catch the lead group. Through the ride the pace was high, but we just couldn't close that gap to the lead pack, which hovered around that minute mark. During races like this you always wonder if did too much on the front of the pack and you get slightly worried, coming into transition, that your legs will hold up.

Coming off the bike the leg felt alright but knowing before the race that there wasn't much speed in them and I was just hoping that I could hold a descent pace through the run. Legs the held up, it wasn't quick but I didn't loose any spots and went sub 19min, which is always good.

Being that the aim of the race was not to come last, I was pretty happy crossing the line in 9th and only a few minutes behind the leader. Knowing that there is plenty of training to come and a lot more fitness to be found for the up and coming races.

Emmo and the team at Elite Energy organised and held a really great event. It was nice to see Nowra holding a triathlon again, after a few years in the wilderness. Alot of people supported the race, competing and spectating which is great to see.

One down many more to go

My first race of the season was not a bad race to do (just to double check what I thought was true - Christmas was GOOOOODDD but it was time to train). The race was the second in the Hills Tri Club race series. The turn out was awesome - another sellout field, which is 200. The weather wasn't too bad for a race, slightly over cast, breezy and the water temp was 28.

The swim was pretty straight forward, 750m down the rowing lanes, coming out of the water 4th wasn't a bad start, slightly knackered but I felt pretty good.

I lost a little of time on the bike against the other guys, but it was all about holding a steady pace in to the wind and the making up for it with the tail wind. Coming off the bike the legs were a little wobbler, as I haven't done little to no transition training, where would the fun in that be. The run wasn't much fun, I managed to keep a steady pace for the most part and was slowly bringing down the gap to the guys in front.

Overall the race went well, finishing 7th overall, in a field that contained some good hitters and some younglings that I will be racing next weekend (16 Jan 2011) at Nowra in the Pro Tour, should be fun.

The Townsville GO TROPO and my First BIG CHEQUE

The Townsville GO TROPO was on again bigger and better, it's definitely going to be one of the races to put on your calendar. We had competitors coming as far as Darwin and New Zealand to compete. The course was tight and very spectator friendly which makes a change from the old "out and back courses" that we are used to. The weather conditions weren't the best, with high winds and a choppy swim, but it made for an interesting race.

The swim was one of the tougher swims that I have done in a long time, the swell was small but really annoying, so much so, that you couldn't really take advantage of the runners coming through. I came out of the water in 4th and managed to make up 2 places in the transition (just goes to show, practicing your transitions really pays off). I caught the lead ride by the end of the first lap and managed to hold the chasing pack for the next 4 laps and come in to transition hold first place.

The run was a big of a struggle, I may have put a little too much into the ride and was paying the price for that. The good thing about having a 2 loop course is that you can see how quick the guys chasing you are coming up behind you. Fortunately I managed to hold the chase and hang on to first place overall. With the win I picked up my first cheque and I also managed to bag the fastest ride as well. The Townsville Go TROPO is definitely a race I will be putting on my calendar for next year.

"To Trigger or not to Trigger" that is the question

Simply put "YES". A lot of people out there suffer pains and strains in and around the knee, hip and lower back area, usually from training on the road for running and from training on the TT bike for those effort sets, myself included. Once the tear in my quad had healed, I was still experiencing pain and tightness in and around my knee. The first thing you think is "Great my ITB is going the dogs now, if its not one thing it's another". This is where Trigger Points come in. In sciency talk they are called myofascial trigger points and are tiny contraction knots that develop in a muscle when it is injured or overworked.

Each muscle contains muscle fibres and in that muscle fibre the parts that actually do the contracting is a microscopic unit called a sarcomere. Contraction occurs in a sarcomere when its two parts come together and interlock like fingers. Millions of sarcomeres have to contract in your muscles to make even the smallest movement. A trigger point exists when over stimulated sarcomeres are chemically prevented from releasing from their interlocked state.

These trigger points usually send their pain to some other site. This is an extremely misleading phenomenon and is the reason conventional treatments for pain so often fail. It’s a mistake to assume that the problem is at the place that hurts!

Massage of the trigger point flushes the tissue and helps the trigger point’s contracted sarcomeres begin to release. In dealing directly with the trigger point, massage is the safest, most natural, and most effective form of pain therapy. With trigger point massage, myofascial pain can usually be eliminated within three to ten days. Even long-standing chronic conditions can be significantly improved in as little as six weeks.

There are a lot of Trigger Point information on the Internet, with some really use full charts, that will show where the Trigger Point is usually located and the referral pain pattern goes. There is also a very good application for those who have an iPhone called "Trigger Point" and costs $3.99. This is the one I use, it shows the referral pain and the Trigger Point to attack and i have had a lot of success with my ITB.

Good luck, train hard race hard

Long Road to recovery

My name is Andrew and I'm an addict - I love to race and its killing me not be able to.
Unfortunately the worst part of being injured is the temptation to race, thinking she'll be right, I'll go slow. As if that happens. It has been close to 2 months since i tore my quad at the Newcastle tri and I'm only just getting to the point where i can run for 30min with no pain, it's not fast mind, but its something.

This is where the problems start. Because racing is such a big part of a triathletes life and training program, its really hard not to race when you think you are right. I'm at that point now, where I could race but I would more damage than good.

The best piece of advise I could give to anyone who is the same boat - take the time off to relax and let your injury heal. From most injuries there is no quick fix and you need to let it heal. But there are a few things you can do to help the process. Such as:
1. Before you go to bed, put some EMUL GEL on the affected area and wrap it with glad wrap, then wrap it with a bandage or the like (to keep the heat in). This helps the healing while you sleep.
2. Self massage. You should self massage the area every night, while you watch TV.
3. Physio roller. This is a great way to roll out the problems and is commonly known as the poor mans massage.
4. TENS electric therapy. Helps to relieve pain, increase the blood supply to the area and speed the rate of healing. In the later stages, it can be used to re-strengthen the affected muscle.

The last part and the most important part is to TAKE YOUR TIME, let the treatment run its course and don't rush back into a race just because. You can always do the race next year.

Not what you want

This is not exactly the best race preparation. Going for a ride with the group on a Saturday morning and then you have a crash. Not the way to I would have picked to start a morning.

To the left is the after effects of the crash, two busted spokes, hole in my saddle, gear levers bent inwards and a hole in a cover, scratch in the frame and on the rear drailluer and a knock on my sore knee just to top things off.

Below is a picture from an ultrasound showing the damage I did in the Newcastle race with a bit of extra swelling from the for mentioned crash.

Happy training

Weights workout for the week - not for the faint of heart

This is a really good weight session for cyclist, to be build strength and endurance. Its a 6 week cycle, if you haven't been doing weights long, keep the weights fairly light for a bit, you'll still get a cracking session out of it.
Weight - 30-40% one rep max(1rm)
Sets per session - 3 Rest between sets - 1min rest(m/r)
Exercises - squats, seated leg curl, seated calf raise (for a quick upper body workout in conjunction with the legs you can add in seated row and upright row)
Remembering its a 6 week cycle - here is the set

2 weeks 30%1rm for 4min NON STOP, 2m/r
2 weeks 30%1rm for 7min NON STOP 2m/r
2 weeks 30%1rm for 10min NON STOP 2m/r

Something unexpected

The Newcastle olympic triathlon was an uxexpectedly enjoyable race. The swim was a straight 1500m down to a beach near the break water. The race was supposed to start at 0630, but due to the sun not playing the game (someone didn't check sunup time) we had to till 0700, which kinda sucked as it was a no wetsuit swim and it wasn't real warm standing around waiting. Once underway it was a fast swim, with the tide on its way out, the 2 leaders were about 1minute in front of our pack - which was about 20 strong - we came out of the water in a shade under 19minutes which was sweet and a good way to start a race.

The bike course was quite tough, 5 laps, with 2 climbs in each lap. The first climb was the hardest, upto the lookout and around the park with a fast desecnt back down to the water front then back up a quick rise and around the fort. The ride was pretty busy being on a tight course which made for fun times. With a small pack of 2, we were able to work well totgether and catch the lead back on the second to last lap, which put us in the thick of it for the run leg.

And thats where it all came unstuck for me. The run course was a flat fast course, with a bit of cross country in the mix to make it interesting. Out of transition i was 5th overall and was feeling pretty good for once. Then on the start of the second and last lap my leg/knee started to tighten up and didn't let up at all. During which i lost 5 places and the finish wasn't pretty at all. I ended up finishing 10th overall, 3rd in my age group (30-34). The Australian Defence Sports Triathlon Assoc. (ADSTA) were holding their National Titles in conjuction with where i took out firsr place.

A few weeks later the Navy News came out with the above picture on the back page, not what i was expecting at all.

My first race as a pro

Didn't exactly go according to plan. The format for the race was an eliminator, which meant 3 races of the same distance 300/8/2. In the first race 16 people get knocked out, in the second race 8 people get knocked out and then its on for Young and old to win the race and the loot.

The swim was a smash fest, from the gun there was arms and legs going everywhere. I think i swallowed more water than taking breaths. I came out of the water just behind the leaders which i was happy with. The ride was a nice short dogs leg, with 2 180deg turns and a nice high speed corner in the middle. the pace was no higher than training but with all the extra salt water on board the body decided to shut down which made for a hard ride. i managed to hold the lead group for 2 laps and then got dropped. I made it back on to the back 3 more times by then the damage was done - i was knackered. i got popped off the back and rolled home. The run was on the same course, 2 times. nothing exciting happened there, i didn't loose a place and i didn't gain one.

I finished 24th out of 30, which meant i was out of the next race, which kinda sucked but that's racing. I then turned my attention to the long course race the next day.