Canberra Half Ironman – My first Half Ironman race report

Date – 12/12/10

Why Canberra? Checked the Australian Half Ironman series dates. Narrowed it down to Port Macquarie or Canberra – They were the closest to Sydney and didn't fancy travelling too far for my first half ironman race (Yes – this story does have a happy ending and there could be more races J ). Port Macquarie was few weeks after the Sydney Marathon. Canberra suited me well as it gave me enough time to prepare for it and more time to ride.

My garmin watch doesn't lie..since 1^st July, approximately 780KM running, 1520KM cycling and 70km of swimming was done. That's about 175 hours of training and I was ready for the Canberra Half Ironman on 12^th Dec 2010..

Training and tapering went to plan until the weather gods got it mixed up & decided to take away the summer weather and dumped ACT with rains and floods. Lake Burley Griffin, where the swim was to be held was flooded and the bike course was flooded.. It was time to panic – I didn't need any training to panic, it came naturally! Despite the uncertainty with the weather, the organisers finally decided that the race will still go ahead but the swim will be replaced by a 4k run. I am not a fast swimmer but fast enough to come out of the water quicker than most of my fellow back of the packers.

Got to registration early on Saturday and found out that the bike course has also been changed from a 3x30k loop to a 5x17k loop as Coppins crossing was still underwater. So it was going to be a 4k run followed by a flat(ish) 90k bike course and a 21k run... The 'hardest half ironman course in Australia' had now become a super fast half ironman course with less than 24 hrs to go. I wasn't complaining about it, but with no swimming and a flat course, I knew everyone will be going a lot harder – atleast on the bike course.

I couldn't help but think of a quote from one of my idols and favourite author – Professor. Randy Pausch.

We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.

He lost his life to Pancreas cancer few years ago but just before he passed away, he used the quote in his 'Last Lecture' on "Really achieving your childhood dreams". Half Ironman or triathlons (or sports or fitness or being healthy or dieting) wasn't a big part of my childhood and half ironman was definitely not a childhood dream – I only dreamt it about 8 months ago! But somehow that quote made all the sense to me as I lined up for registration – I decided I was going to play the hand as best as I could and enjoy my race!

Registration was quick (Probably because I was one of the excited few to line up just when the registrations opened!).. checked in the bike. Did all my Christmas shopping at the event expo – I think I now have enough Canberra half ironman clothing to last me a while! Came back in the evening for the compulsory race briefing. It was easy to pick the newbies from the regulars. The regulars did not have the slightest interest to be at the compulsory race briefing at all..Us newbies were way too excited to be there and was getting a bit annoyed when others in the crowd started talking amongst themselves. I also felt like the odd one out with hairy legs – I should've waxed ! Or atleast should've worn pants!!

Went to an Italian restaurant with Shyamala for Dinner and loaded on Pasta and bread and off to the room for an early night. Alarm goes off at 4am. Woke up and treated the morning like I'm preparing for a (very) early ride.. Had cereals, honey and banana for brekki and followed usual routine and out of the room by 5am. Got to start/transition area by 5.20..

Getting into the transition area was like trying to get into the Establishment bar in Sydney. It took me a few attempts to enter the transition area! – Now I know, I need to:

1. Wear the helmet
   
2. Wear the wrist band
   
3. Apply the small sticker on the helmet!
   

Was finally let in...I set up my transition and pretended to do a final check of my bike like my neighbours at transition. I had no idea what to look for, so spun the wheel and checked if the brakes work. Final check – Pass! Now it's go time!

Transition closed at 6am. Official race start was at 6.30am and they had wave starts based on the age group. My age group – Males 25-29 started 20 minutes later.

Leg 1 – 4k run

6.50 am – I start my first ever half ironman race along with about another 100 guys in my age group.

Unlike a swim leg, where you could only see faces floating out of the water with goggles on, in this run start, all of my age groupers were clearly visible. I could see who they are and their race numbers. This wasn't really a good thing as my race plan of taking it easy was not in my mind anymore – The combination of adrenalin and maybe a bit of pride forced me to keep up with the group atleast until about 1.5ks which was done at 5:29/k pace. Once the initial thrill was over and I was away from all the cameras and spectators, I decided to do my own pace and so did most of the group. I placed myself in front of a couple of guys and behind most of the group.

Time: 22:03

Garmin link - http://connect.garmin.com/activity/59572292

Rank: 82 out of 142

Quicker than planned and a good steady pace for my standards but was still at the tail end of the group.

Transition 1

Running shoes off, bike shoes on. Slow walk / steady jog to the bike mount line. There were only 2 bikes left (in my row) waiting for their owners to finish the run leg and there was another two guys in my row exiting with me – rest of the group decided not to wait for us!!

Out of T1 in 02:46

Bike Leg – 18k x 5 loops

Lap 1 – Got on the bike, quick drink and settled into aero position. Never felt so comfortable on the aero bars – it took me almost a year of tinkering to find a good position! Had my first GU gel about 10 mins after starting the bike leg. Despite the plan to take it easy earlier on, I was still peddling hard but the bike seemed to move quicker than the effort was putting in! I was averaging 33-35km/h. This half ironman thing looks easy!

The bike loop was a nice 18k undulating loop with the biggest incline at the lady Denham Dr turn to Cotter Rd. The support at the end of the lap (at the start line) was tremendous. I had 3 different cheer groups - My parents, bro and Shyamala, then the Hills Tri club crew and then Nikki from the Tri club who had her own beach chair and was enjoying the race go past – I heard a 'GO DINEISH' chant from all 3 groups.

Lap 2,3 – Nothing much to report. Gel on each lap, continuous hydration, getting off the aero bars occasionally to rest and stretch my back – But always on Aeros when I saw the official photographers and at the start area where most spectators were – As you do!

Started seeing athletes withdrawing from the race and/or giving up. Felt terribly bad for them to have trained so hard only to withdraw at that point..

Lap 4 – Heading out from Commonwealth Park, the head wind was noticeable but yet manageable. But the cross winds on Lady Denham Drive was strong. The Aussie flag on top of the parliament was flying strong and high thanks to the strong wind. For the first time, I was not looking forward to the long and fast downhill to the bridge. The strong winds were pushing me to the side and I honestly thought my day could end here with a bad crash. The aero bars felt so uncomfortable and painful!

Saw more and more athletes off the bike and withdrawing.. Most of them looked like they've had enough for the day and given up! I don't think I was too far from them at that point. Lap 4 was more of a planning lap for me to pick the strategic spots where I could withdraw in Lap 5 if the need arises. I had specific some criteria for the spot – Had to be well away from the spectators and photographers but not too far from an aid station or support vehicles..

This planning helped me get through lap 4 and finished it with a quick toilet break – Still haven't learnt the art of 'doing it on the go', so made use of the toilet at the aid station.

Lap 5 – Most fast cyclists had already finished their 5 laps. The pros were almost on the second lap of the run. The spectators had already moved to the run leg area. The volunteers assumed you've done your 5 laps and get ready to guide you through to transition, only to realise that you've got one more to go. The start of lap 5 was both tough mentally and physically. I headed out for my last lap on the bike. Didn't have much left in the tank and started wondering how I could run a half marathon after this and I may end up withdrawing at one of the planned spots and promised myself that I would train harder next time!...

Throughout the race I didn't notice too many draft cheats except for some of the fast guys hanging onto each other. But I saw the most obvious and strangest draft cheat of the race on this lap. It was obvious, because she was drafting off another guy all the way on Lady Denham Dr. There was probably only a few cms gap between them. Strangest, because the guy didn't have a race number and was wearing a fluro hi-vis top – It almost looked like she's hired a guy to help her cheat!! It was also strange because the ladies started almost 10-15minutes before my start and she was still out on the course despite the drafting and averaging atleast 35km/hr on the last lap.. On the positive note, my curiosity kept me distracted for a while and before I knew it I was heading into transition. One more gel and more energy drink and then a flying dismount off the bike while trying to make sure I don't fall off the bike right at the bike dismount line. This certainly did not add any time but definitely felt and looked good – just what I needed before I headed out to do a half marathon!!

Split	Leg Time	Time of Day	Time Taken	Average Speed	Pos	Cat Pos	Gen Pos
Bike-18k	0:37:55	7:49:58	0:35:59	30.01	822	81	662
Bike-36k	1:13:54	8:25:57	0:37:25	28.86	816	80	657
Bike-54	1:51:18	9:03:22	0:39:46	27.16	816	79	657
Bike-72k	2:31:05	9:43:08	0:41:03	26.31	814	80	658
Cycle	3:12:08	10:24:11	3:12:08	28.2 km/h	810	81	656

Garmin link - http://connect.garmin.com/activity/59572294

Transition 2

Prior to the race, my aim was to 'beat' the first guy to T2 – i.e. I wanted to be out of T2 before the first PRO athlete finishes his whole race. Unfortunately, the first guy had finished his race already and so did a few others. They were being interviewed as I tried to get my socks and shoes on and resisted temptation to sit down and relax for a bit.

In my row, most bikes were racked already – This meant that most athletes are already out on the run. This was not the best place to be and I'd be lying if I said that all of this doesn't play with your mind. Quick look at my watch and it was only 3:34:11. I also saw and knew there were many others still on the bike leg. I realised I had about another 3hr30mins to run the 21kms before hitting the cut off point. Provided I get my running legs back, I knew I would be able to do it.

As a form of last minute impulse buy, I had bought a hydration belt with 4 bottles at the race expo the day before. They had 2 bottles of V for the caffeine and some high salt drink in the other two. For some reason, I felt really good and decided I didn't want to carry around that extra weight anymore, so took it off and ran out of transition wondering if I would regret not carrying any V or salt with me.

Time in transition: 02:09

Run: 10.5km x 2 loops

Felt surprisingly fresh and good. Did the first KM in 5:17. I knew this wasn't going to last, so decided to slow down and kept going. Ran past the aid station 1 and only grabbed some water to pour it on my head and cool me down. I was surprisingly still feeling good and kept running a constant pace and started to pass people who were walking or doing a walk/run combo – I knew I could pace a lot better on the run than the bike leg! It is always a nice feeling to pass people towards the end of an endurance race as it shows that you've paced well.. It was even better to pass my own age group athletes who had sprinted away in the first run leg and then the bike leg. I also got passed numerous times too..

Finished the first loop and was expecting to hit the wall any time now. But didn't see the point in slowing down even more or loading myself on gels or energy drinks to avoid it – So decided to run based on how I feel and I was feeling real good..

Rest of the run was a mixture of, getting passed by some runners, passing more runners, coke, water, jelly beans, energy drinks and chatting to various athletes on the way.

Top of Form Split Bottom of Form	Leg Time	Time of Day	Time Taken	Average pace (mins/k)	Pos	Cat Pos	Gen Pos
Run2.7k	0:16:30	10:40:41	0:16:30	0:06:07	721	74	589
Run-10.5k	1:08:35	11:32:46	0:52:05	0:06:41	763	75	617
Run-13k	1:27:07	11:51:18	0:18:32	0:07:25	760	73	615
Run21k	2:23:22	12:47:33	0:56:15	0:07:02	758	75	607 Bottom of Form

Garmin link - http://connect.garmin.com/activity/59572298

My rank in the age group for Run leg 1 was 82. The bike leg was 81 and this run leg was 75. My overall position on the bike leg was 810 and the run leg was 758. I was definitely passing many runners!

The home stretch back from the Museum was getting tougher and hotter. The course also looked like it doubled in length since the first lap!! But things certainly did change when I came under the bridge for the last time. This was the point of realisation that all the hard work and the long training hours had paid off - the finish area of my first half ironman journey was visible! It was about a KM away but the sight was definitely a memorable one - My 'running partner' (some random bloke I ran with for the last few Ks) and I stopped briefly to enjoy the view (and take a quick rest)! – After about 110kms of cycling and running and almost 6 hours of constant movement, it was a great feeling to know that the finish line was now in sight and less than a KM away. It was a quick pause, a quick smile, a quick adjustment of my visor and race number (so I can be spotted easily in the finish line photo) and off for the last KM. The support at the Hills Tri Club tent was so loud that I almost thought I still had a shot at a podium finish!

Crossed the finish line at 5:57:33!!

Overall category position - 80

Will post the photos and videos from the finish line soon.

Overall, had a great day and definitely pushed my boundary even further... Couldn't have done it without the support of the coaching from Pete Goldie and the rest of the tri club crew – Great guidance from the experienced clan and some fun rivalry amongst us newbies got me there..

My parents – You've questioned my intentions and plans..but never stopped my journey – you always supported and guided me instead!

Shyamala – Thanks for putting up with my crazy training hours. When I woke up at 5/5.30 on most mornings, I was heading out to do what I enjoyed... you..well, i never gave you an option other than to wake up and have brekki by yourself and worry if I was ok.. and congrats, now you know most Triathlon terms including T1, T2, taper & bonking (and you don't even find that funny anymore!)!

Thanks also to everyone who wished me luck and kept track of my (sometimes useless?) facebook and twitter updates! J

Looking forward to faster times next year! J

Wall? What Wall? - Sydney Marathon 2010

The build up
It was exactly a year ago, that I did my first marathon - the Sydney marathon 2009.
One of the first things I realised was that my plans to do a marathon to ‘just finish’ had suddenly changed - I wanted to be back for the Sydney Marathon in 2010. My official time in last year’s Sydney marathon was 5:14:33. I would always cherish that day as a very special one and have fond memories of it. I would like to think that was the day I learnt and proved (to myself) that boundaries do not exist – if they do (more like, if you think they do) and if you do want to break them out of passion, they can be broken with determination, self belief and of course, a good solid plan. I remember every emotion and action that happened on that day, almost to the minute!! I don’t regret anything about that day and definitely not ashamed of the slow time – It is very obvious that marathon is one of the toughest races you can do and I respect every marathon finisher! But when I did come back to run the Sydney marathon, I wanted to be much faster. By ‘Faster’ I only mean……
I wanted to run it fast enough to atleast keep up with the pacers..
I wanted to run past all water/aid stations (specially towards the end), when the volunteers were still in full swing and not shutting up
I wanted to run it fast enough to see and cheer the leading wheelchair athlete and the lead pack of the marathoners
I wanted to run it fast enough for work mates and friends to stop saying ‘ahh atleast you finished it’
I wanted to run past most cheering spectators before they start thinking ‘ohh there is more of these runners coming?’
Most importantly, I wanted to run the final stretch to opera house when both sides are packed with people cheering you on !!!!
I also wanted to get to the end to have the finisher’s t-shirt in my size and not just get one of the few remaining ones!!!

I think these are all only a natural progression of any athlete and after 2 marathons prior to it (Sydney 2009 and M7 2010), I think I had the right to expect it. This was my only A grade race this year – I was hoping to train specifically for it, have a good build up and achieve a really fast time. When I planned my races earlier in the year, I was hoping I would be at a sub 4:15 marathon fitness in time for the Sydney Marathon. However, my first obstacle (more a learning experience) came when I did the M7 marathon. With only about 8 weeks separating that marathon and the Sydney marathon, I was hoping to write off only a week of training after M7 and slowly start training again for the Sydney marathon for at least 4-5 weeks before I taper for Sydney marathon. However, the complete recovery from the M7 marathon took about 3-4 weeks. I was able to swim and cycle but my running legs simply weren’t ready!
The other obstacle was when I decided that I would be ready to do the Canberra Half Ironman in December this year and may not have to wait another whole year to attempt one. Once I signed up for it, without even realising it my mind decided to get excited more about that and get distracted from the Sydney marathon.
I did do my regular short/lunch time runs, however, as a result of both of the above, I didn’t do many long runs as I would’ve liked to until about 2-3 weeks ago. I opted to cycle more and do some long brick sessions, hoping that fitness will help me with the marathon. As I didn’t feel I had the speed to finish the marathon in 4:15, I was planning to hang around about 5 minutes ahead of the 4:30 pacer. As always, my wishful thinking was that if I hung around the 4:25 equivalent pace until about 30-32kms, I can then step it up gradually and hope for a finish about 4:15 or thereabouts.
Race day:
The marathon was scheduled to start at 7.30am. The runners were divided into 3 self seeded groups. I was in the last group – C. We started about 5 mins after the ‘A’ group. The 4:15 pacers and 4:30 pacers (2 of each), were in the C group. When they started running, both the 4:30 pacers instantly had about 30-40 runners around them – some of them were running so close to the pacers that they looked like they were attached at the hips to the pacers.
I decided to take my time to catch up to the 4:30 pacer and was running about 300 meters behind the 4:30 pacers after my plan to place myself in between the 4:30 pacer and 4:15 pacer was almost instantly scrapped when I realised I had to make my way through the whole 4:30 bus! I decided on tagging behind the 4:30 bus for about 30-32ks and then ‘beat’ the 4:30 bus and get as close as possible to a 4:20 finish. This would mean I would do a ‘negative split’ (Second half of the marathon will be quicker than the first) or very close an even split – This usually requires trusting in your ability and pace a lot and stopping yourself from going too fast too quick. Flipside of starting off slower than the 4:30 bus for me was, if I do hit the wall or tire myself too early, then I could potentially finish around 4:45 or even 5! I made my decision to stick to a slower pace and was hoping to run it all the way to the end.
I got to the half way point (21.1kms) in 02:10:53. At this point, I was only about 100-200mts behind the 4:30 bus and was still feeling fine so decided to continue at my same pace. The 4:30 pacers had the plan of running slightly faster than the planned pace and then slowed down and walked through the water stations. As a result, I was almost 300-500 meters away at times but caught up to them at the drinks stations. This pattern continued almost until about 35kms. I was really happy to have stuck to my plan and pace. I got to the 35kms in about 3hr 45mins. After my brief toilet and water stop, the 4:30 pacers increased their gap with me and were almost about 700-800 meters away from me. I had to do another 7kms in 45mins to finish it in less than 4hr 30mins. On my lunch time runs I usually do about a 6min/km pace and it usually takes about 42 mins to do 7kms. I had another extra 3 minutes buffer and most importantly I was still running and still feeling fit(ish). So I thought even with occasional brief walks, I might just make it under or right on 4:30. I stuck to my pace and continued running. I passed many runners including some ‘A’ group runners (i.e. Self seeded fast runners who are possibly having a bad day) and many ‘B’ group runners – Some of whom I’d seen earlier with the 4:15 and 4:30 bus. In a way, It almost felt like I was passing my old self from the M7 marathon at this point – At the M7 marathon, I stuck to the 4:15 pacer until 32kms and then suffered bad cramps and hit the wall pretty bad and resorted to walking and took many stops after about 36kms. It was a great feeling to ‘pass my old self’ and continue running!!!!
It was only after about 39kms and when I got back to Sussex st, I started feeling sore and tired – but this was the ‘general fatigue’- not the expected ‘hitting the wall’ feeling like my system was going to shut down. I decided to not try to chase a 4:30 finish. Maybe it was the bad experiences from the last two marathons, but I simply did not want to hit the wall at this point and possibly lose a lot more time and finish a lot slower. I decided the next best plan will be to slow down (but still run) and try to finish it under 4:36 (my current PB from M7). This worked well as I ran under the bridge and got to circular quay in about 4:31ish. I had to do about another 200 meters and had about five minutes to get there for a new PB. When I got to this final stretch last year, most people had already left and most others were walking towards circular quay – I also recall, some of the marathon runners seemed like they’d already finished brekkie/lunch and heading home by the time I was finishing . This year – this felt a lot different! I knew I was still in the back of the pack, BUT I’d obviously got there a lot quicker than last time. Both sides of the path to the finish line was absolutely packed with almost all of them cheering the runners on – I almost felt like a celebrity on a red carpet.. I was acknowledging the cheering (as if they were all cheering ONLY for me) and I also decided to high-five almost every kid/man/girl/volunteer/cop who had their hands out !!! – Some of them were forced to because they realised I was on a high five’ing spree !!!
My official time was 4:34:37. A Sub 4:30 wasn’t meant to be.. But I think my highlight of this marathon was I DID NOT CRAMP AT ALL!!! I DID NOT HIT THE WALL!! Most importantly, I had run an almost even pace, throughout!! Maybe it is the experience, maybe it was my diet in the lead-up week, maybe it was my nutrition plan during the marathon, maybe it was the decisions I made during the race in regards to my pace or maybe it is a sign that I should try an ultra marathon :p.. Whatever it is, I am quite happy with the PB and not hitting the wall!!! :)

My garmin output for Sydney marathon 2010

Funny Half Ironman training tips!!!

***ABSOLUTE Gold***.. One of the funniest half ironman training tips I've come across!!!
Courtesy - Transitions.org.au

Maybe I'll need to follow it in Canberra this December!!

Are you new to this long course caper? Are you fat, slow, un-trained, un-motivated or maybe you only have a single digit VO2 max? Remember, half the population has above average genetics and physiology for long course racing, the other half could be you. Got a tough race coming up in just a few days time? If any of this sounds like you, then maybe you could benefit from Otter's tips for tough days. You won’t read any HTFU Bullshot here, just our patented "Slow but Steady' finish techniques from Otter's Institute for BOP'ers or OIFBOPer's for short. The following is a brief summary and a few thoughts and techniques that might help you through the day.

Firstly, my credentials:
- Have never completed an IM in under 14 hours
- Have eaten my entry fee in gels, snakes and gu while on course
- Gained 2kg's during my last IM
- Recently finished Yeppoon in 7 hours
- Finished Last (stone motherless) at the Surf Coast long course
- 100% glow stick contender at Port Mac

Thats right sports fans, when it comes leading the BOP (from the rear), I'm the fat furry mammal you might want to listen too... For those of us not gunning for the podium (but wanting to finish and get that nice towel/medal/pat on back etc), read on...

The Overall Race.
- Is overwhelming. The more you focus on how far, how hot and how difficult the whole endeavour is, the worse life in general will seem. Step back and look at this logically - a long course race makes no sense at all. The human being was designed to wander about 5km, sprint 50m to catch dinner and then amble back home. The idea that a swim/bike/run of this order is a sane thing to be doing is nuts so lets just put that to one side and accept that a certain level of rationalisation simply will not help.
- But its cool to even try to go this far... And that's the point.

The Swim (without a wetsuit)
- You dont have to swim 1.9km. You really dont. There are marker bouys about every 300m. Marker bouys float. Swim to a marker bouy out of morbid curiosity. Maybe there is a really hot naked chick attached to the bouy, maybe a $100 note (have you ever really looked?). So swim to the floating marker bouy, if you are about to drown then grab onto the floating thing - you'll survive. If you feel OK, then swim to the next floating thing. Repeat about six times and voila, swim complete.
- If in any doubt, start at the back and to the side. When the gun goes, count to five (slowly) and then start swimming. If you are like me, five seconds will not affect your finish time. Aim for clear water and look behind you as well as in front, get out of the way of the next wave as they come through you.
- The no wetsuit thing (sucks). It really does, but life is unfair. Remember, you only have to swim 300m to the floaty thing.

T1
- Walk to the bike, the bike is going to hurt (a lot) what's the rush?
- At the rack, do your transition in slow motion, things will go much faster this way.
- Dont worry about the bike ride, just get on your bike and go for a spin, who knows, there could be Jen Hawkins and Megan Gale having a naked lesbian pillow fight around the first bend and if you dont get on the bike you might miss seeing this unique event...

Bike
- Its not 90.1km, its just not, I wont even drive that far, let alone ride.
- 1st Lap. Go for a 30km spin to have a look at the course. Its really more of a course inspection or course tour if you will. What is the condition of the road? Do the locals seem friendly or are the cow skulls and shotgun shells a bit disconcerting. Do the aid station volunteers have the electric shock gear in case your heart give out a bit later on? Stuff like that.
- 2nd Lap. OK, you've finished lap 1 out of curiosity, now comes the tough one. Lap 2. Its tough because its pointless. You know whats out there and you are just clocking up the k's, so what to do...
- Enjoy the race of course! Not your race, you are slow and boring. You should enjoy the pro's race. You have a ring side seat to watch the action unfold and right about now they'll be lapping you. Who is a filthy draft cheat? Who is an arrogant ass that they have to brush your shoulder as they pass even though you are on the verge of the dirt? Check it out - you have the greatest seat to watching the worlds greatest endurance athletes battle it out.
- 3rd Lap. You'll feel like crap. Its probably 50 degrees in the shade and there is lightning in the distance but what the hell. You've done the hard work so you might as well enjoy the 'victory lap' as I like to call it. You'll be all alone but take this chance to thank every single volunteer, road blocker, bottle passer and TO for their efforts. If you can get around the last lap while thanking every single vollie without tearing up a bit then you have no soul. Do this and the final lap will fly by.
- Get out of your shoes as you approach T2 for the 'flying dismount'. Sure its not going to help your time (nothing will at this stage) but its good for morale.

T2
- Desolation. You are shelled. You had nothing left to give over an hour ago. Now you weep for the fact that you have nothing left to give the vacant space within yourself that also has nothing. Have a cry, endorphins are your friend. Its 70 degrees in the shade and several bolts of lightning have already struck Craig Alexander. You realise the bolts that struck Craig are part of a marketing exercise gone wrong, although dead, he has already finished.
- What ever you do, leave T2 and head out on the run course. You dont need to run 21.1 k's you just have to leave transition.

The Run
- However bad you are feeling right now, take consolation that things will always get worse. Time to tap into your perverse side. Hang around long enough to watch things get worse...
- 1st Lap. Things are not good, so amble over to an aid station. Stop and take the time to eat the food and drink the disgusting sports liquid. You are an elite athlete, you must need the sports drink, its ironman food. Again, get around the first lap just to check stuff out. Most of the fast age groupers will still be on course, suck in your gut and pretend to be one of them.
- 2nd Lap. Time to enjoy yourself a little. Its now 70 degrees inside the icecream scoop in the recovery area (not that you are anywhere near that). At this point the suffering should be in full swing and misery loves company, so... Time to check out some of the very fast age groupers and elites that have blown up. Sure, most of them will have finished or be on their final lap but hey, what about the dozen or so lost souls that are in the final stages of renal shut-down or just lying motionless on the grass. See if they are OK, have a chat. Some of them will not want to talk to you (which is OK, leave them be) but some will want to tell you what went so horribly wrong. We go to the races to see the crashes. This is the crashes.
- 3rd Lap. Your done, finished, goneski, crepitis. You can fry an egg on your eyeballs and you have black sweat marks instead of white. At this point I cant help you. No-one can. You've only got about 5k's or so between you and the blue carpet. This is a great time to figure out why are you doing this. Make all kinds of agreements with yourself that after you finish this last few k's you will never, ever, ever attempt anything like this again, ever...

Enjoy the blue carpet. The moment is over so quickly and it took you six or seven hours of serious discomfort to get to this point. Smell the roses.

3 days later, start planning that next race. Contact your coach, bike shop, physio, othotics spcialist, massage therapist and fortune teller and give them a right bollocking for your average performance. Tell them to lift their game so you can go so much faster next time.

It wasn't a race, it was an Experience - City2Surf 2010

Living in Sydney and being a fan of road running, I’ve had 2 key events in my to-do list for the last few years. One of them required about 6 months of planning and training, a whole lot of long runs on Sunday and running 42.2kms on race day… The reward was a memorable experience of running on the Sydney Harbour bridge, a Opera House finish and a ‘marathon finisher’ t-shirt and medal – That was the Sydney Marathon (check out my Sydney marathon blog here)…
The other event on my to-do list required the willingness to make your way to Hyde park on a clear and chilly Sunday morning, a running gear (superman, wonder girl, NFL player, storm troopers, smurf suits are all perfectly acceptable), great skills to dodge gorillas and prams up heartbreak hill and most importantly the urge and passion to run or walk amongst 80,000 other Sydney-siders! This was the City 2 surf.
After a few years of finding excuses on not to do it, this year I finally decided to run the city2surf. This happened to be the 40yr anniversary of C2S…
Just two weeks after my M7 marathon, this was a ‘C’ grade race. My mind was ready for it, but I knew my body was still recovering from the marathon - Every time I started running I didn’t quite feel 100%. The longest run I did since the marathon was only 7.5 KMs, but I wasn’t too concerned as this was a no pressure race. I was going to give it my best try and if I did feel sore or too tired, I was going to walk it and enjoy the company until I was ready to run again.
If all goes well, my plan was to aim for a sub 75 mins finish.. This was approximately 5:21secs/KM. Considering I averaged 5:20sec/KM for my half marathon on a mostly flat terrain, I thought this would be realistic and obtainable. Having never done it before, I didn’t know what to expect of heartbreak hill but I was hoping I might just make it!
My race plan was simple :
1. Start off easy
2. Maintain a steady pace on flat terrain
3. In uphill sections, keep plodding along but never stop running
4. In downhill sections, Pick up on speed as much as possible
5. If I feel like passing out or need to call an ambulance stop or slow down and remind myself, I’m only doing it for fun and not hoping for a podium finish this time! :)
This is my plan for most races…
I was in the blue group. This wasn’t one of the groups I had to qualify to enter. Only prerequisite for this group was, you had to be able to run all of the distance.
The race officially started at 8.30am but our group only started moving almost 15-20mins later. As expected, the first few KMs were quite busy and packed. It was hard to get into any sort of rhythm – all you could do is, try to avoid tripping on the curb or a bin and try to pass as many runners as possible. My race was all going to plan until around the 6k – the beginning of heartbreak hill. Despite the great distraction from a band playing AC/DC it was evident that it was going to be a slow, gradual climb. I continued to climb at a slow pace but was slowly losing sight of the 75mins goal. I knew the uphill climb was about 2 KMs. I was hoping to catch up on time after the climb but heart break definitely lived up to its name and managed to wear me out enough! – My slowest KM on the course was the 8th KM – It took me 6:48!!
After the Heartbreak Hill, I still managed to push along at a steady pace but didn’t quite have much left to push it any harder and I knew my 75min goal was gone and wasn’t concerned at all at what my goal was going to be. I don’t even recall checking the time on my watch after about 10Ks until Campbell pde in Bondi Beach (about 700ms to go). Elapsed time on my watch was about 78:30. It was only then I decided I really want to make it under 80mins and decided to push myself really hard to the finish line. Time on my watch has 1hr19.38secs (approx. 79.38secs). I am yet waiting for the official time but really hoping my watch was right!...
Next year, I’ll qualify to start in the GREEN group – That would be anyone who completed C2S within 75-100mins. Hopefully I can train and make it to the finish line in under 75mins and get a spot in the ‘RED’ group the following year :)
Check out my garmin race summary here..
Overall, it was a great enjoyable run that I’d highly recommend it to ANYONE…

My 2c on race planning

Last year, I refused to do City 2 Surf as it was too close to (one month before) my first marathon and despite being the same discipline (running), it was two completely different distances (42.2 vs 14 KMs) and didn’t think I could focus on two races at a time. This year, I’ve already done a (sprint) triathlon, two Duathlons , two half marathons and a marathon. I’ve still got many more races planned for the year..

This does look like a busy race calendar and (understandably) I’ve been told by many concerned friends that I’m doing too many races and I should just focus on one or two for the year or I’ll lose interest.. I thought I’ll try to explain my logic..

Thanks to tips from many triathletes I’ve met and info from various articles, I’ve used a grading technique to grade my races. The grading scales for my races is A to D (A being top priority).

Grading is my guide for the following:

· Amount of race specific training I’ll be doing in the leadup

· Tapering (Relaxing and cutting down on volume in the lead up to the race)

· Mental race planning in the leadup

· Pre-race diet

· How fast/hard I hope to push myself at the race*

· Recovery time after the race

*I usually try to push myself as hard as possible (within my abilities) on race day.. but the end result would vary depending on the preparation.

As a guide,
Grade D race will be more or less a tough training run with minimal preparation. I did the race 2 of the Duathlon series a week before my Marathon and with no cycling training. I also had a big night before the race but my sole aim was to simply have some fun and get one last tough training session prior to tapering for the marathon. I also wanted to get out early in the morning on a chilly winter day to get myself prepared for similar weather at the marathon..

Grade A race will be the key race for the year. This will be the Sydney marathon for me this year.

Based on the above, my race plan / calendar is as follows :


(may need to click on it to view it more clearly - HTML is not my strength!)

Entering races are usually not too cheap either.. but I still think I 'profit' mainly phyisically and financially by racing and not having a big night (or two) in town :)

I would have to change my plans if I was injured and/or have any other commitments.

This is my 2 cents on Race planning. Hopefully this will assist someone with their race plans! :)

"Luck is where preparation meets opportunity. "
— Randy Pausch (The Last Lecture)

M7 Westlink Marathon - 25th July 2010

My goal for this race had 3 finish times :

Plan A - Sub 4hr16 - This would mean I would have smashed my first marathon time by an hour! I couldn't ask for anything better..

Plan B - Sub 4hr30 - A great finish time and gives a realistic goal of 4hr 15 for my next marathon

Plan C - Sub 5hr 16 - This would be a PB and would mean I've improved since last September

Training in preparation to this race went to plan with a strong sub 2hr half marathon PB two weeks ago and constant hard training. I was well aware that I haven't done as many long runs as I would've liked to but didn't mind testing and risking out to see if this would have an impact on the race and if so, how bad it would impact me.

My longest run to date was only 25KM! This was the longest I've run since my first Marathon last year (Sydney - 5:16)

Tapering was going to plan until a minor last minute sore throat / cold scare 2 days before the race. I managed to sort it out and I was ready for the race. Having done one marathon already, you would think I was confident to atleast finish the race.. But I had the same nerves, same butterflies, same doubts, same 'what-ifs' in the days leading upto this..
Afterall, it was going to be 42.2kms of road running - it is a long time to be out there maintaining high motivation levels and listening to your body and catering to its needs and convincing it to do things which is out of the norm! The marathon has no short cuts.. The new shoes, compression clothing or a flashy watch was not going to get me to the finish line!

I thought I would have a challenge bigger than the marathon itself first thing in the morning - waking up Shyamala at 4.30am to drop me off at the start line :) However, she was up and more than willing to drop me off and was excited :)
The start at Ash Rd, Prestons was a very casual affair unlike the Sydney Marathon - There were no road closures, no overcrowded trains, no police, no PA announcements.. just a bunch of about 200-300 runners and a bunch of great volunteers.

My plan was to do my own pace for the first 10ish Ks, then either drop back or catch the 4:15 bus (the 4:15 pacer + runners hoping to do 4hr 15) and hope to hang on to them until about 30-35ks. At that point, I was going to reasses myself and either pick up the speed (wishful thinking that was!) or drop back and hope to finish as close as possible to 4:15.
The race started shortly after 7am. The weather was wonderful - no rain, not much of a wind but still nice and cool! I started doing my own pace and constantly monitoring my heart rate. After a K or so, I was around the 4:15 pacer and a group of about 15 runners! Being a narrow bike path, I couldn't run next to (or close to) the 4:15 pacer. But I wasn't too concerned and stepped back and made sure I kept those runners within about a 20m reach. This was my first ever experience running with a pacer! At the Sydney marathon - I only saw the pacers at the start line and in the photos few days later :)
btw - the 4:15pacer was a bare foot runner!!!!

After about 10ks, few of the runners in the 4:15 bus dropped off and few others from the 4hr group dropped back to join the 4:15 group. I was still hanging on the group and was feeling quite good..
Around the 15k point, 4:15 group had lost most of its runners and it was just me and Nat from the hills tri club keeping the pacer company. The pacer did a great job of (obviously) pacing well and keeping us distracted and chatting about everything else but the race and how long we've got left. He was an IT consultant working in the city.. (Out of all places) we had a good chat about IT and the GFC while running the marathon :) He was also telling us that he used to be a triathlete and was invited to Hawaii for the Ironman championships!

At the half way mark, we were about 30 seconds faster than our pace but this was part of the pacer's plan to 'put some time in the bank' for the second half. Nat and I continued to run with him.. I was still feeling good and was secretly beginning to think that I maybe able to tag along with them until the finish line. Especially because all the big uphills climbs were supposed to be in the first half and the second half was supposed to be "nice rolling hills with only one steep hill at the turnaround point at 32.5kms" (source: m7 marathon website)
My parents were there to cheer me on at the 27km mark. I was beginning to feel the fatigue and soreness at this point but was able to still hang on to the other two until 30ks... At this point, the "Nice rolling hills" weren't nice and definitely weren't rolling!!
I managed to keep up with the pacer for another KM thanks to his encouraging words.. But it was becoming very clear that 4hr 15 marathon was not going to be obtainable today. I decided to let them go and aim for a 4:20ish time.. This was working well until the steep hill at Quakers Hill to the Warrimoo drive turnaround point. This was a slow gradual uphill climb immediately followed by a short steep hill!
At the 32.5km turnaround..It did feel like a great achievement to have stuck to a good pace until then but it was time for another re-assessment and I slowed down further and was happy to aim for a 4:25ish finish time.
I managed to walk/run for another KM or two until I started cramping badly in my quads and calves, could not control my heart rate anymore and was feeling a sharp starving pinch in my stomach - I had officially run out of gas and hit the wall.

My parents and Dhilip was at the 37km point. I managed to run about 200 m to 'smile for the camera' :) and had to stop shortly after that!
It was time for yet another reassessment - This time the goal was visible. I saw the 4:30 pacer's flag about 300 meters behind me and plan was to not let him beat me!!
I managed to stay away from him until about 39ks. My legs were cramping, by body was sore and couldn't run anymore..
With much pain, I managed to do a combo of run/walk to the finish line at Blacktown Olympic Park!!
Official time was 4:36.. A sub 4:30 would've been much nicer but neverthless, it is a PB and I've smashed my PB by about 40 mins!

Being actively invovled in forums and training with a tri club, it is sometimes easy to get carried away, get competitive (not a bad thing at times) and forget why I got into it in the first place - To get/stay fit and have a bit of fun.. I'll keep reminding myself of it and look forward to my next race :)

Sri Chinmoy - Half Marathon

11 Jul 2010

With only two weeks to go for the M7 marathon, this was a ‘C’ race for me. When I included this in my race plan for the year, the plan was to complete it at marathon-pace and maybe do another 5-10km and make it the last long run before the M7 marathon. But having missed the sub 2hr in the SMH half (2:00:34 – yes, frustratingly close), I have since been secretly targeting a faster half marathon time too! I was undecided until the race started if I wanted to try for a PB or do a long run – probably not the best game plan for the M7 marathon or any A or B grade races, but being a no-pressure/relaxed race, it didn’t concern me too much..

It may be hard to believe but I wasn’t sure what pace to do even when I started the race!!.. It was only after a KM or two, I decided to stick to a quicker pace than the marathon and hope for a PB.. In the back of my mind, I was still thinking that if I do feel sore or couldn’t push it hard enough, I’ll slow down and decide to do a longer run!! – I couldn’t have been anymore indecisive!!
The race was a small loop at the start and then 2x10K loops . Most of the course was nice and flat, except for the bridge. (As always) You see the faster runners crossing you in the opposite direction.. You always wonder how they do it and what more you’d have to do to atleast keep these guys within a 5-10minute reach!!! – Let alone running at their pace.
The water stations were approximately every 4-5ks. They did offer some ‘sports drink’ at one of the stations – but I could only taste water in it..
I stuck to a good pace until about 19ks and got there in 1hr 45mins. At that point, I was almost certain that I would do sub 2hrs (despite being really tired and sore) but decided to stick with two other runners and push myself to the end. My biggest highlight of the race was the 20th KM. This was my fastest KM in the race – and on par with most of my ‘fast’(short) runs :)

My official finish time was 1 : 5 6 : 3 9. I’m officially a sub 2hr half marathoner..:)

M7 is going to be a completely different game plan – Almost complete different to this race AND a lot different to my first (and only) Sydney marathon!.. Hopefully the plan works!! :)

50 ways to identify triathlon obsession

Saw this on one of the triathlon forums... I'm slowly and steadily beginning to tick most of them :)

50. You are over 30 and there is still someone in your life that you refer to as “coach”.
49. Your last bike cost more than your first car.
48. You have peed outdoors more times in the last year than you did in your first year of university.
47. You think of mowing the lawn as a form of cross-training.
46. You’ve worn a heart-rate monitor to bed.
45. And it wasn’t when you were sleeping.
44. You refer to the front hall of your house as the “transition area”.
43. When you get home from a training session at the pool, the newspaper is just being delivered to your house.
42. You have changed more flat tires this year than light bulbs.
41. The most frequently used software program on your computer is the one that keeps track of your workouts.
40. You have no idea why they call Cal Ripken Jr. “Iron Man” when, after all, he was a baseball player.
39. The first three items on your grocery list are Gatorade, power bars, and gels.
38. When you floss at night, it’s to get the bugs out of your teeth.
37. Your legs move in a cycling motion while you are asleep.
36. When you see a drop of blood, your first reaction is that you spilled some red Gatorade.
35. You know how far you biked and ran last year, to one-tenth of a kilometre.
34. You think the ultimate form of wallpaper is about 64 racing bibs.
33. A 19-year old kid who works in a bicycle shop know more about you than your next-door neighbour.
32. Your children are more likely to recognize you if you put your bicycle helmet.
31. You have a vanity licence plate with the word “Kona” in it.
30. About half the shirts you own have at least a dozen logos on the back of them.
29. You don’t find the word “fartlek” in the least bit amusing.
28. When you refer to your “partner”, you mean neither your spouse nor the co-owner of your business but the person you run or bike with three times a week.
27. You shave your legs more often than your wife.
26. The closest you came to punching somebody was when they disagreed with your position on whether wearing a wetsuit amounts to cheating.
25. It doesn’t feel right that you can’t “clip “ in and out of the pedals in your car.
24. There is a group of people in your life about whom you are more likely to know how fast they can swim 100 metres than their surnames or occupations.
23. Some of the shorts you wear today are tighter than the ones you wore in high school.
22. You are frustrated with the latest Garmin Forerunner because its live readings have a margin of error of approximately three per cent.
21. There’s a separate load of laundry every week that is just your workout clothes.
20. One of your goals this year is to be faster at getting out of your wetsuit.
19. You failed high school chemistry but you could teach a course on lactic acid.
18. All you want for Christmas is something called a carbon crank set.
17. You wore a digital watch to your wedding.
16. You have to have completely separate meals from your spouse because he or she is on a low-carb diet.
15. Your bicycle is in your living room. and bedrooms
14. You have stocked up on a brand of cereal because it has a coupon that will save you money on your next two pairs of running shoes.
13. In order to establish a new personal best, you considered peeing without getting off your bike.
12. One of your proudest moments is when you lost a toenail.
11. When a car follows too closely behind you, you accuse the driver of “drafting”.
10. When you went for a job interview, you wrote your social insurance number on your arm in black marker.
9. Your spouse cried during Terms of Endearment; you cried during the television coverage of the Hawaii Ironman.
8. You are comfortable discussing the sensitivity of your nipples with other guys.
7. Your spouse is looking forward to the day when you will slow down and just run marathons.
6. You have paused in front of the mirror in your wetsuit and thought, “Hey, I look like Spiderman.”
5. You see no issue with talking about treatments for chafing or saddle rash at the dinner table.
4. You recently asked your spouse out for dinner by asking if he or she wanted to “fuel up” together.
3. For you, “bonking” no longer has a sexual connotation.
2. The magazine secretly tucked under your mattress has pictures of really expensive bicycles in it.
And the No. 1 sign you’re obsessed:
1. Most of this list doesn’t seem like a joke to you.

SMH Half Marathon

On 16th May, I lined up with 8500 other runners for the SMH Half Marathon.
Having done the Sydney marathon in Sept 09 and that being my last running event, you would (well, I did) think the preparation for this race should be smooth and easy. When I resumed training properly around March, that wasn’t going to be the case! It was obvious that I’d lost all my fitness and was struggling even to do a 5K run or 10-15 laps in the pool..
Clearly our wedding in Feb, the honeymoon and all the good food and parties in the months leading up to it was the culprit :) - But loved every minute of it :)
It took a good couple of weeks to get back to a reasonable fitness and to convince my mind to sign up for the SMH Half.


On race day, I was feeling quite fit and ready thanks to the 4-day tapering. At the start line, I met up with a couple of the hills tri club boys. Some of them were hoping for a sub 1:40 time and I knew I wasn’t going to pace them. One of the boys (Gerald) was planning to do a sub 2hrs too so we decided to pace each other. Sub 2hrs was my realistic goal, even though secretly I liked sub 1:50 a lot better :)
It took us a long time (06:06 minutes) to just get past the start line. Once we passed the start line, Gerald and I managed to stick together and run at a decent pace…

The race was quite an enjoyable one…
The most exciting part of the run was running under the harbour bridge. I’ve done many lunch time runs around the city and on the Sydney harbour bridge, but it is truly an amazing feeling to be amongst thousands of runners and run under the Sydney Harbour Bridge and enjoy the view of Opera house and circular quay!!

My official finishing time was 02:00:34.
Average pace is 5.40mins/km.
Avg HR: 170 bpm
Max HR: 190 bpm

Was hoping for a sub 2hr finish. Had a great run but was forced to slow down at times due to the crowd (8500) at times - Not sure if that is what slowed my overall time or if it in fact helped me pace myself and gave me the PB!