First post-race training.

24/01/2008

Did a 30 min swim yesterday and it felt like I was gliding along better than usual. Still haven't managed a run or bike but will try and do some easy ones tomorow.

Searched all over the internet trying to work out some future races, and decided will try and get along to Gore this Saturday and do the 'quarter ironman' race the Southland tri club have going on.

Took my resting HR this morning and it is dropping back; sitting at 48bpm.

Am going to photograph a couple of the old images of myself competing about 19years ago and post them here soon. Some of them should be interesting from the fact of how things have changed(gear wise mostly).

For anyone who checks out this site for the photographic ideas I am going to start updating the action shots tips on a monthly basis from now. This week will explain the technique of framing a photograph(that is a frame within a photograph).

The action shots tips are made of examples from photos on this site. As far as all the different techniques go, most of them I worked out myself or discovered by getting out there and doing it. I use nikon gear so did as much reading as possible on how to use all my equipment. There is all the most technical information out there on the net. By understanding how the gear worked in detail it was possible to pretty much reproduce any image I had seen.

This image is an example of what I am saying above. Worked out how to slow the shutter speed down and track the athlete(didn't know it was called panning). Then I added the flash to it and come up with this. Really liked the result and only recently see this technique has a name also; that is 'slow sync flash '. Have just searched the net after writing here about it and there are some spectacular examples out there. This is reasonably technical but produces amazing action results(usually used where the light is low).

Would prefer a darker background in the above image, but it will do for now as an example. Also the above image is not a true slow-sync flash and have only now(5/2/08) sorted the camera settings to do it properly. Most effect is in low light so for sport action it would need to be quite overcast, for dramatic effects.

A note to the above is to be aware of effects flash can have on startling the subject, so I use it side on only when close up to athletes. Front on may not be very well appreciated. The above is side on enough.

Note to myself: the above is to be cut and pasted from here into the 'action photo tips' section of this site later.

I did a weekend refresher course with some professional photographers(mid 2006) and they showed us some techniques, mainly based around landscape photography. Also have some friends in France who are fulltime photographers and their help has been invaluable.

So if you are new to photography the first thing is to understand how your gear works. My tips will mostly be about different styles of photograph and hopefully be a useful reference for you(as a a photographer), to refer back to.

More about this site:

-Statistics for the first 22 days of January show that there have been 8277 page visits and 145,547 requests. Each request can roughly be determined as a single image viewed. This is about double the number of visitors for the best months in 2007, so things look bright for the New Year.

- Sponsors for this site are being sort, but as yet I am still in the process of getting together a good resume of how the site can benefit potential sponsors.

- The site is targetting an international audience and this appears to be successfully acheived.

- more later........................

Above is a photograph of my weekly statistics for this website(still 3days to go in the last week). The left of the graph is the most current. Photograph taken of computer screen is the reason for the lower quality.

- have some tri-suits which am getting this websites logo put on and will be giving away a couple of them as a promotion via this training blog. This will be a couple of weeks away.

- some photographs I have taken and used on the site have sometimes been what you could be described as slightly overexposed. While travelling around I have come across many older computers being used with lower quality screens and images that were darker or even slightly underexposed were not showing up well. So made the conscious choice to slightly overexpose many images for this site.

Post race thoughts.

22/01/2008

Well the endorphins are still running through my body, so still on a high. Endorphins after all is one of the big lures that hooks us in once we complete such endurance events as a 3.8, 180, 42.2.

And all the muscle soreness had pretty much disapeared by the time I got up today.

Unfortunately am working all the midweek days that the aquathons are on in Wanaka so will look further a field for some open water swimming events. Would really like to do the one in Corsair Bay in Christchurch but am working and have already taken more days off than I am owed.

The group that did the 'Altitude Training Camp' back in late November come up with some good results. Many of the participants at it were already very acomplished ironman/triathletes which says alot. They turned up because of the quality and value of the camp to a major degree.That is my plug for them as they plan to make it an annual thing.

Overall placings including pro individuals from the camp were:

4th womans,

9th, 14th, 18th, 28th, 38th(myself), 58th, 61st, 91st. There were about 120 individuals at starting line.

Am missing one of the group but am trying to show the diversity of us. Can say they dealt with us well as a group and individually(it was kept to 10 plus the instructors).

At this camp during the nutrition talk, I said that my pre-race breakfast would be a big smoothy made of 1 and half litres of milk. All mixed up it was just over a litre and actually only had about half a litre of milk in it, so my mind was playing tricks on me. I also had 3 or 4 weetbix and feel good about my pre-race meal. The smoothy had a punnet of strawberries and 2 big organic eggs in it.

Spoke with another guy who was a bit disapointed with his result and he said he only had a couple of slices of toast for the pre-race breakfast and something else small. No where near enough for such a big day in my mind. Have heard the pre-race breakfast of N.Z's top pro was quite substantial so I would go with that.

Recovery 2 days after.

19/01/2008

The social occasion/function put on after the event organisers was just superb and everyone looked to have a blast.

Have a bit of muscle soreness still. Muscle soreness is what is slowing me down in the run, and was aware of this happening in my long training runs also. That is at about 28km on training runs the muscle soreness sets in. Will be looking into the cause of this but think it is a matter of keeping my weight down and doing some more mileage. Wearing strong/solid training shoes and running trails should also help.

There are some swim/run events coming up soon on the Wanaka shorefront, and you can click here for the times of the events. I am hoping to make it along to a couple of them.

My post-race thoughts is that I will definitely do this 'Challenge Wanaka' iron-distance event again in future. Maybe not next year though beacause am looking at some other events including 'Challenge Roth' and 'Ironman WA'.

Morning resting HR the day after the race was 58bpm or was that 68bpm?(memory failure also). Anyway will take it again in a few days to see if it is settling down. Certainly it was indicating the body needed some serious rest the day after.

Race Day 'Challenge Wanaka' 2008.

19/01/2008

Photos will be posted on a separate event page tomorow evening New Zealand time.

Firstly must say a big thankyou to my sister who took all but a few of the photos used here and on the events page while I was competing.

In the mean time you can see great images of the course an event from last year by clicking here.

Finished the race in 11 hours and 12 mins. So happy enough for my first time.

Myself crossing the line, taken just over a minute after finishing.

Really I enjoyed the hot weather(35.3 degrees was recorded at 4pm).

Held back in the swim and completed it in 60 mins 23sec. Felt like I was holding back but was probably going the right speed for the day ahead. There was no starting hooter so the last call was 10 secs and after waiting more than that, everyone just took off. Swimming in this beautiful clear lake was one of my most enjoyable swims ever. Didn't feel like getting out and wouldn't mind doing a race that had a longer swim and maybe a shorter bike/run.

Did stop twice in the swim because my swim cap had become loose. The first stop I pulled it a bit but not enough as was worried about my goggles coming off. A bit later at about half way I stopped and sorted it by pulling it tight with both hands on either side. The caps were very generous in size an one woman from a team told me after the race of her cap coming completely off in the swim(resulting in 57min or so of having hair swirling over her goggles).

Water temperature was very nice(just right for me), at 18.6 degrees celcius.

Myself(starting to look back to see if anyone is coming in behind), and Dave who by chance was staying at the same accomadation lodge. The day before we did a 20min swim on the course at the same time. In the transition tent while I was wasting time opening my power bar wrapper he accidently put my cap/goggles in his bag. It was fortunate coincidence that Iknew him.

Bike time of 5hrs 43mins 6 secs or close to 31.6km/hr. Am happy with this time as it is a reasonably tough course.

Went reasonably hard on the bike from the outset. Revised my target HR zones back to the 140-160bpm range. Most of the time was just under the 160bpm. Went a bit harder than planned as the day was perfectly calm and great cycling conditions. The guy mentioned in earlier posts that I was fortunate to do some rides with over Christmas had an awesome ride(35km/hr) and a good race overall(second in the same category as myself).

The first 100km of the cycle course is relatively flat then it starts getting into a few more small gradual hills. Felt really strong on all the hills and for all of the ride. But as soon as I went over 160bpm started to feel it so had to drop it back anyway.

Could say went too hard on the bike going by how the run went.

Ended up averaging 32km/hr for the 180km ride so pleased with that as the course is tough enough.

Run time of 4hours 22mins 23 sec. Some room for improvement here.

Ran comfortably through the first 10kms then started getting muscle soreness and very tender kneecaps. The kneecap soreness is a new one to me. Tried to maintain my running technique but pretty sure the muscle soreness resulted in my run technique falling away. Muscle soreness has been a problem for me during training and sets in quite of at 30kms or so, so it wasn't unexpected. Talked to another guy after the event who posted a fast 9 hrs 54 min and he said a sore knee held him back a bit on the run also, and he hadn't had this problem before either.

The last 10kms of the run was the hardest and I did walk short sections of several uphill sections and the aid stations. Up until the the last 10km or so had managed to run non-stop and through the transitions but my stride was getting more like a shuffle at about 25kms.

HR during the run was sitting around an average of 132bpm, so going by this was running well within my fitness capabilities. Muscle soreness was the biggest thing slowing me down and put some of this down to damage caused by going harder than before on the 180km bike. Certainly some short term small injuries were done to the leg muscles and there were some very sore points identifiable on the massage table post race. Soreness caused by a variety of factors, but I will need to train more and keep my weight at 85kgs or lower to be able to run train effectively.

Added salt to my electrolyte fuel belt bottle and it wasn't such a good idea as it made them unpleasant to drink. Will try using some sort of salt tablet next time.

Both transitions combined was 6 min 30 sec. First transition involved a couple of 100m's run and also wasted about a minute. Couldn't open my power bar wrapper as had melted it previously. While mucking about the guy beside me accidently took my goggles. Fortunately he was staying at the same accomadation as me so I knew him and got them back afterthe race. My favourite goggles ever are hard to replace.

Hey 42kms is a decent run after going hard on the bike for 180kms. Ended up 12th in my age category out of 33 so happy enough with my times for my first ever full iron distance race.

Pre-race weight measured as 85kgs and post race of 84kgs so was happy that I had got my fluid intake right. The day was very hot from about midday on with a recorded high of 35.5 degree celcius at 4pm. Fortunately many of the locals were out with there hoses to wet us down or had set up the cold water hoses to work like a shower and I took advantage of all of these. After the first lap of the run my goal was just to get to the next aid station and refuel. Coke and ice got me through the last 15kms or so. Also I submerged myself in the cool water of the river on the second lap of the run which was well worth it.

Looking back to my sister and giving her some advice on the photos to get. The leading men had just finished at the time of this image, which was taken just after I went through 21kms and off loaded my fuel belt. Would like to get it back but don't think I will see it again. Sure I said my bag number when handing it over, but hey it is no big deal.

Looks like I was already close to shuffle run style in the above image. It was certainly a shuffle run technique to get through the last 15kms for me.

It felt great to cross the finish line and I think everyone who finished it is awesome. It was nice conditions for the race and the first pro was 8 hours 47mins, so it would rate as one of the tougher bike/run courses around over this distance. Fastest team was 8 hours and 12mins.

My preparation before the event was such that I was excited and feeling in good shape at the start line. Didn't get a good nights sleep before it but was still well rested. Got to sleep about 8.45pm and at 11.45pm got a text message which woke me. Didn't get back to sleep to about 4am and was up again at 5am feeling a bit tired but soon was feeling good. Have now turned the sound off my messages. The problems sleeping is also tied to the fact I had come off a night shift at work(3am finish).

Overall it was a great day and alot of fun. The course is great and highly recommend it. Will be doing it again someday for sure. The organisers and supporters were incredible also.

Am looking forward to a bit of relaxing lake fishing and water ski-ing over the next couple of weeks.

Taper update.

17 & 18/01/2008

Morning resting HR sitting around 44bpm. Completed an easy 20 min swim over part of the course on the 18th.

16/01/2008

1 hour ride in perfect(hot and calm) conditions. Just arrived to my families home to stop a night and what do I see, a big picture and story in the local paper of one of the local guys competing. The headlines on the sports page says, XYZ(athletes name) eyes 'reward' for hard yards.

It lists his training and past acheivements which including cycling, duathlon and triathlon etc........... Mind you it doesn't say he has done the 'Tour of Southland' cycle race 6 times which is a useful background.

Anyway started feeling nervous but resolved it quickly for a couple of reasons:

Firstly reminded myself of what I had written below, that I never compare myself to others or at least aim not to.

Secondly was good that I had managed to do a 5 hour and 4 hour ride with this guy just a few weeks back and we both managed to hold it together on some tougher terrain. Anyway it states the number of hours he trained a week for the past 6 months. Now not trying to compare but I prefer Normann Stadler's response to time spent training which was something like a "6-7 week build-up". Obviously there was alot more than this, but this was the real focused time getting things right(thats my interpretation).

Anyway my own situation has been more like getting the last 7 weeks or so getting the training right. Obviously my build-up or base is different from a pro's and anyone else for that matter. I do feel as though my own training put alot of emphasis on trying to run long before 2 months ago, and think to do it this way again. Or another way to put it is that I think to do slightly less running in the final 6-7 week build-up than what is typically advised.

The above is just my personal thoughts and am not recommending it as hard advice to follow, but rather saying think through it on your own individual basis.

Update on some of my vital statistics is that my weight is now sitting at 85kgs. About 8 weeks ago it was sitting at around 88kgs, so am feeling happy with this weight loss. In 2003 when at my fittest level(since 1993), my weight was 82kgs. Body weight and getting it right for yourself is very important in this sport as far as I am concerned.

This is a picture of Wanaka showing where the the swim course will go. Took this image 2 weeks ago after just swimming across this bay and back. It was a bit rougher out there than what this image shows. Am hoping for a calm day. Took the image as someone from the public was passing by to give the image some idea of depth. It was just taken as a quick snap shot as the focus of the day was training.

There has been alot of traffic to this page so am starting to think what I can do to keep it interesting. Have looked at a few blogs recently and the ones that list all the training out and nothing else were a bit boring to me. So not surprised if some read this for a while then get bored with it.

15/01/2008

Mowed my lawns for an hour and a 35min swim.

Taper update.

14/01/2008

40 min easy swim and 50 min easy run. This will be my last run of anything more than 15 mins. Feeling like this is one of the better pre-race preparations I have had in the physical sense.

To be honest I expect the last 10 kms of the run to be the toughest even if I have paced myself well. For the last 10km, I have got some mental/thought scenarios planned to go through if it is getting really tough. Have done a 9 hour continuous race many years ago so this will be the toughest/longest enduarance event for me.

The above is much of the reasoning to be more focussed than usual about the event/race in 5 days. At the same time am relaxed in that I am preparing as well as possible to complete this thing.

In fact 'event' is the word for me to use and 'race' is referring to the professionals.

13/01/2008

2 hour ride in strong wind followed by and easy 20min run. Morning resting HR has now been very consistent at 48bpm for past 3 days.

12/01/2008

45 min swim.

One thought about my preparation that I would try and change for next time is to incorporate more swim then bike training(contiguous). Have'nt done this because of logistics, but next time would do 1 hour swims followed by varying length rides up to 6 hours duration, then very short runs.

Photography and copyright.

11/01/2008

As is stated on all web pages and the home page of this site all images are under copyright. Have said people can use them for screen savers, but am starting to see some turning up on peoples blogs.

I see someone using alot of 'TriathlonShots' images on their personal blog(without prior agreement) as a breach of copyright.

All images on this site(TriathlonShots), have either been taken by myself, been paid for or have been used with permission of the photographer. I am trying to differentiate this site from others with lots of triathlon images by having very interesting quality images.

I cannot give anyone permission to use the photos taken by someone other than myself.

Some of my images have been used on commercial websites and magazines with agreements.

This site was definitely not set-up to undermine or reduce the value of photographers work! Rather it the promotion of photography and photographers which is part of TriathlonShots' aim.

I did start encrypting all my pages so the only way people could easilly use them was to take a photo of the screen. You can also take a photo of a photo in a magazine but it is still also a breach of copyright.

If people ask to use a few images taken by myself, I am usually very happy to oblidge if in return they put a link to my website.

Have stopped using the encryption software because it prevented people using 'Apples photo programmes', from seeing the images. And as I found out many of the top professional photographers use this software and would like them to be able to see the images.

Here is a link to an encrypted page(not working at present) :

Ironman Coeur d'Alene

These are top quality images and I will have to go back to encrypting them. It does stop me from updating or editing the pages once they have been encrypted which is annoying.

The other thing will be to start using lower resolution images. Also will start putting my website address on all the images.

Obviously I will chase up anyone who uses images from this site without agreement.

I do see the internet as being an important part in the of promoting triathlon so that is my reason for continuing with this site at present.

The aim/hope is that many viewers will continue to come back and view the updated event photos. Regular updates are planned for this year.

Comparing oneself to others.

11/01/2008

Sometimes I may dream of being like someone else but never do compare myself to others. Always just trying to improve myself and do recognise it is not always upwards, but up and down. Don't like it when others do either as we are all so different for many reasons(often unknown). So won't be comparing how I am going with other competitors or trying to beat anyone.

One guy I see who is doing the race doesn't feature in the pro's category but could quite easilly show through at the top. Won't say more but his form looked good a few months back in a half ironman and he has done another full ironman that I am aware of. Not sure how the pro category works but he should be in it to have a chance at the prize money. Just my thoughts. Anyone who is a previous winner of the age group world champs in the 25-30 age category has to be pretty darn good!

Taper update.

Above is the bike I will be using. Good bike this, so thankyou to my cousin Peter who was based in the USA with a pro-triathlon team for selling it to me. It was second hand but all the components, cranks etc were brand new so it hums along. Brought the wheels separately.

Which reminds me, there is a shop in Alexandra that is having a clearance sale of lots of great Zoot gear at present. Plenty of gear for both sexes and the one item I plan to get is another Zoot tri-suit. The one I have has been serving me well. Unfortunately he didn't have the mens running shorts which are great also. The shop is located just opposite the entrance of the Warehouse which is easy enough to locate. Even put a couple of my first T-shirt designs in there to sell. Have about 120 blank T-shirts I purchased in Beijing and am yet to add some designs to them also. Never a dull moment.

Here is a link to my first design efforts:

11/01/2008

Morning restin HR of 46. Really it is dropping so will be keeping a close eye on this.

Before saying how tired I still was this morning the following is important to remember. Up to Xmas was working a 4 x 10hours roster/week starting at 5.30am. Since the New Year I am now working the same 4 x 10hours but starting at 4.30pm. So am now going to bed at about 3.30am. Fortunately have arranged it so I only have to work one night next week which should give me time to work around the jet lag effect.

This morning I had my big smoothy and due to time constraints headed out for a run about 40 mins later. Couldn't even run as was very tired all over but more so in the upper body. So instead went for a ride and did an easy 1 1/2 hours and afterwards I could run better. Did sleep 8 hours but it put it down to working through the night and going to sleep about 3.30am. Also put this in because some of my family don't think I work hard enough. My current veterinary work is for N.Z Food Safety Authority-Verification Agency, and have a 7 month seasonal contract.

10/01/2008

45 min swim today. Rest day yesterday.

Morning resting HR was 50bpm so somehow it has dropped 8 beats from when I did the Ironman training camp 6 weeks ago. Either it has dropped because I am fitter or possibly was already fatigued going into that camp. Am thinking it was fatigue as run myself to a standstill twice in the 7 days prior to that camp.

Cycling long helps me burn off more calories than I consume but running gives me more aerobic fitness for the time put in.

In both the runs described above I run myself to a standstill with 1-2km left to run. Still have trouble working out if it is due to energy deficiency or muscle soreness, but whatever I liked doing these runs. Running is the one discipline I have kept constant over the past 20 years and would be running at least twice a week all that time. My fitness and body weight can still vary alot even with running all my life. sure there would have been some weeks or even months when I had breaks but have been pretty consistent.

Am pretty sure both those long runs were around 30km and were slow(3 hours). i know the distances because have previously measured them. it does not concern me that I couldn't keep running after about 29km on either occasion. It is going to be a pleasant surprise for me if I can run the whole 42km at Wanaka. My confidence in doing so is high unless I get carried away on the bike.

I believe anyone can bonk if they push to hard and don't want to be close to that to late in the marathon.

Was doing that slightly excessive running because it was best use of my time and yes I agree it is unconventional. Some people ask me 'have you ever done a marathon?'. No I haven't but I have run longer than 4 hours on many occasions. The best day was in about 1991 when we did a 20km plus training run at a quick pace. Several hours after that a guy who was running sub 3 hour marathons come along and persuaded me to run again. It was another 20km plus run at a fast pace. Did alot of running that year and the muscle memory is always there. Well maybe not that long; the last half marathon I did was the 2005 Christchurch in just over 1 hr 24mins.

It is great that there are alot of quality events around these days, but there is still something to be said about getting out there and finding adventures away from the crowds. Remember being dropped off in Mace Town some 20 years ago and running out over 'big hill'(a 3 hour run for me), with nothing but stream water to get by. I wasn't the only crazy person out there as met another guy doing the full loop from Arrowtown to my start point and back. Asked this guy what the small pack was for and he said it was to carry some rocks. Wouldn't carry rocks myself and these days would take some food supplies, but what I am saying is don't forget about real adventures. You don't need someone to hold your hand all the time and you may just find your own adventure is just as rewarding. For me it always was anyway. Can see myself going back to multisport racing including more personal challenges.

Am trying to come up with a plan for after Wanaka. Was very close to entering the Taupo ironman tonight and see it closes tomorow night. I just couldn't justify the cost of entry, travel and time off work to do it. I will be on weekend roster at my job then and my pay is too good to turn away. Boy I really want to do Taupo this year and think they should leave entries open to after Wanaka. Will definitely do at least one more race in the next few months and train to peak for this as well. In fact my main goal after Wanaka is to maintain my training and build on it even though the right race isn't available near my home base.

08/01/2008

Did a 3km swim this morning at about 8am over last years swim course. It went well as conditions were perfect, however I was pretty tired after completing it. Put the tiredness down the previous day of a solid 4 hours training, but it is probably tiredness from the big volume of training squeezed in over the past 2 weeks. Now I am at work and feeling very queasy(unsettled stomach). Will have a day off training tomorow. Also putting some of the tiredness down to camping out the last two nights. Slept on a thin foam underlay, but it was pretty darn hard(no falling back to sleep once the Sun come up in my tent). Maybe I need to toughen up and those two nights would have acheived that. 'No pain, no gain' is an old saying but holds true for many things. Have sorted my stopping place over the events duration after some debacle but it is looking better now.

Rested up a couple of hours in bed at my parents and my own home on my drive/way to working a long night shift. Pushed it to the max, so have 10 days to feel better. Am not eating very much at all, but am optimistic.

Am ending up writing more now that I have some spare time with 10 days to go. Oh well it is all a bit self indulgent but hopefully a good record for myself if I prepare for an Iron Distance race again.

Am sitting here feeling a few aches and pains but none are niggling at my hip. This hip niggle I've had is the strangest thing and only felt it for a few minutes after sorting out the debacle of my accomadation for the event duration. The slow talking guy(new management since my booking several weeks ago) absolutely drained the living energy out of me over 15 mins of sorting it out. I kept calm but inside my energy was being totally drained and it was interesting(good in my eyes) that the guy waiting behind me made a harsh call on him. That is the only time I have felt my hip in the past two weeks, which is indicating to me a muscular weakness problem. Have worked 8 years in my profession as a mixed veterinarian so I like to work through all the differential diagnosis of problems and deal with them myself whenever possible. It has now been just over 4 years since I was doing mixed vet practice but still feel confident the knowledge is there. Also my training included a BSc majoring in physiology.

Here are some race times on a perfect day that would leave me feeling satisfied with my first ironman:

- under 70 min swim,

- average of 34Km/hr bike or more,

-under 3 hr 40min run.

Have not had a cycle computer/speedometer on my bike for the past 6 weeks so am not sure really how fast I am going. On the day I will be going by feel and watching my HR to keep it below 145bpm(average). Maybe I could use a higher HR target but if that is the case the run should be better than I expect.

Not sure how realistic the above is but like, to have some idea in my mind of the days outcome.

NOTE to myself:

-Don't forget pacing and all aspects of the nutrition !!

Changing metabolism/physiology and run down to Wanaka.

07/01/2008

Note to myself is to put a photo in here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pasted from above post(7/2/2008) because it shows the changing physiology to a degree.


Finishing first in a local multisport race(Dec1990). Use to weigh 72kgs back in the early 1990's and now weigh in at about 85kgs (today).	Starting out on the run in my first iron-distance race(Jan 2008). Have a bit less hair these days but can say, 'grass doesn't grow on a busy street'. That is I am certainly a bit wiser with experience.

Am writing this from the camping ground/park in Wanaka, having just completed a good days training. The day started with a 1 hour swim in a very choppy Lake Wanaka over where the course roughly goes. Then after a 40min break eating and tampering with the bike I set off to the base of Treble Cone and back(last part of the course). Then after another 40min break like before, one lap of the run course was completed. Wanted to have done the run tomorow with a swim but time wise it would be tricky as I work a night shift tomorow.

The run was done at about 1hr 40min half ironman pace and my HR sat around 142bpm to begin and got up towards 150bpm for the last 4kms. Up the small hill segment my HR sat around 160bpm. Will remember these results for raceday and try not to exceed them by more than about 10bpm.

By chance John Hellemans was near where I finished so had a quick word with him. Certainly everything from today on will be done in the easy zone and he advised not to overcook the fitness from now. Overcooking it would be easy enough for me as am still feeling leaps in improvement which I put down to loosing a bit of excess body fat(in part). Am very tempted to try and fit one or two 3-4 hours easy rides in the last 10 days as this seems to burn off the calories with the least chance of breaking down for me. Will do one 3-4 hour ride(or a couple of shorter rides) for sure but the other long ride won't happen due to my work commitments.

Haven't been following a training programme as stated below but am well aware of the volumes of each discipline required. Writing it down and not acheiving it would be too tough for me at present. Instead I am just choosing to go 100% by feeling . If I had written to do a 4, 5 and 6 hour ride all in the past two weeks then the thought of it would have been enough to make me worry. As it turned out asking another guy to do some training with me helped my motivation alot I would say(alsohe had completed one ironman before so I tried to take in what he had to say as we biked along). Every bit of advice has been helpful in some way so I thank all those that have contributed.

Have written before of changing metabolism/physiology as we age. For everyone this does occur and speaking for myself I see it as a gradual process over time. These changes can be worked around a fair bit, that is you can recognise them and change your training patterns to improve areas where you are noticing weaknesses or a drop off in performance. A bad injury or loss of motivation from burnout will cause a much more sudden change in performance than will getting older.

I am going to work on the theory that being consistent in training/exercising and maintaining a steady body weight/healthy diet will be even more important as I get older.

Many athletes retire before there performance drops off for a variety of reasons such as:

- family/children commitments,

- the training is intense and this could become tiresome often,

- a good time to finish is when on top(Hamish Carter did carry on for a couple of years after Athens but in part because he could afford to take his whole family along),

- burnout causing a loss of motivation,

- not loss of performance but the realisation that it is a continous struggle to pay the bills,

- Injuries(which aren't related to getting older most often but rather having pushed the body too hard somewhere along the way).

- failing to meet a big goal can really knock the motivation out of a person as I have found out and it can take many years to get back where you once were(a reason to retire). As stated very early on in this blog it is very useful to have a back-up race/goal to cover this eventuality.

What I am getting at is that alot of people use the fact of getting older as an excuse to sit back(laziness is another synonym). Also for me during the past 5 years of committing more time to exercising again there have been times when I push it. Of course it hurts and there is a bit of soreness the next day, but I just reminded myself that this was no different than when in my early 20's. I think alot of people as thet get older say to themselves, "why I am exercising to the point that the body feels sore"(much better to enjoy eating out and trying some exotic beverages). It is sensible in some ways to take a step back from prolonged intense exercise, but it is not good to drop it all too fast.

Some people do physical jobs which keep them fit, but to stay on top of jobs like this they will have to do some strengthening exercises also.

Office jobs with no exercise will certainly change your physiology/metabolism quicker as you get older than someone who keeps it balanced with exercise.

If you have alot of prior experience and a solid base behind you then you can train smarter for example. This may include taking a bit more time out to recover after hard sessions. There are plenty of guys out there in there forties who can compete head to head with all other age group athletes and a few who can still compete with the elites.

Tapering.

05/01/2008

The posts from now to the event in 2 weeks are going to be a bit more of a diary of my taper. Haven't been following a programme because all the time I am trying to build up mileage and really do as much as my time and body allowed. So the deatils being recorded over the the final 2 week taper are really for my reference(maybe they will be interesting when the results of my efforts on the 19th are concluded.

Did approximately a 150+km ride yesterday in very good cycling conditions. My heart rate(HR) sat around 132 for the first half and then sat around 136 for the second half(slight head wind). My resting is around 58bpm.

Interestingly enough my resting HR was around 38bpm leading up to qualifying for the age group world champs triathlon in March 2003.

Really I am not into a whole lot of technical data but it did make me feel good getting some feedback at the recent ironman camp in Wanaka. Will try and post the data later, but the feedback I got was positive(useful) for the following reasons. Going up a very tough climb to the the top of the crown range my HR was kept pretty constant around 150bpm. During the rest of the cycle and 21km run on that day my HR rate was steady/constant and it makes sense to me that it should be steady/consistent over steady/consistent terrain in training.

So the advice was to keep my HR between 140-160bpm during the ironman, which also sounds reasonable to me. I really liked the HR feedback and do think it is a helpful tool in training for such a long event. It really proved to me that just listening to how my body was feeling and going with that is probably not enough. Am thinking to wear it on the bike to stop myself getting carried away early on in the bike. The reason for this is to try and at least run/jog the entire marathon. Advice in the training camp was that the run times will be much better if a steady run without stoppages can be acheived. Of course this is obvious but it helps me to set my goals and focus.

I wasn't going to use/buy a HR monitor but my sister gave me a Kathmandu one for Xmas. She said she just walked around the shop(camping gear mostly) and it was the only thing she could see to get. Reckon this is one of the better and best timed pressies I've received and never mentioned it prior unless she read my blog. Well it certainly made my 5-6hr ride yesterday go by quickly(seemed like only 2hrs).

Really on the ride above I was feeling stronger than ever and got off and felt very light for a 5km run soon after. The day after(today) I did a decent swim and felt only average when doing a run several hours later. This is not a one off and my swim fitness is along way off how I am feeling on the bike. Warning to myself is to be a bit cautious in the swim otherwise it could make for a long day.

Below are images of decent Ironman physiques to 'kick butt' and put out a quick time.

The Challenge Wanaka Iron Distance event is feeling pretty imminent.

02/01/2008

Seventeen days and counting down if anyone needed reminding. Have managed to clock up two decent rides and two short course triathlons in the past week. The two rides were my favourite and were on the road from Queenstown to Glenorchy. Great as not much traffic, tough rolling hills and calm weather on the day not to mention the scenery which made it(this was the original 'Challenge Wanaka' course but it would have been very tough in an event where getting every entrant is important).

The second short tri went better overall today but I must have went out to fast in the swim because I was gasping for breath only 150m's into it. Even though the short tri's were not really very relevant race simulations, some usefulness come out of them. In both I felt really good after the events and did extra training soon after. Had planned to go out hard in the swim to test myself, but think the unfamiliarity of slightly different water temperature and water clarity might have unsettled me a bit. Lake Hayes where I have been doing all my open water swimming has become very cloudy due to an agal bloom several weeks before Xmas. It was like over-stimulation seeing the lake bottom so clearly and had me feeling giddy(resulting in breathlessness).

Am still a bit short on swim fitness so hope to get some more in the next 2 weeks. Would very much like to do the two short aquathons (link here) , but will miss both by a day. Have been swimming open water a bit but not in Lake Wanaka, however now I will make sure to do several swims there before the event!!

Don't want to say too much more before the event as it is a bit unknown, but a calm day will help. Talked to Matt Tuck and his wife and it is a shame they couldn't hold onto the event, but it should still be the same for all us everyday/amateur entrants. Matt did the swim today along with several others without a wetsuit which certainly shows a bit of character.

Just confirmed you can do a decent amount of mileage with a cold(strangely hayfever like symtoms but nasal only), but recommend if you do then listen to your body carefully. Also on a day off training recently I managed to get a bit much sun which hit me(mild sun stroke and a sore throat soon after). Am starting to come round to the idea that all the kids must where hats when they go outside in N.Z schools. Was quite surprised to see this a couple years ago while doing a one year teaching diploma and taking a primary school class for a physical education lesson.

I tend to learn more by doing stuff than by listening to advice, but will say have read all round the net on blogs and ironman advice so hopefully it is sinking in. There is alot to getting an ironman right. The guy I did a few rides with other the Xmas break has completed an ironman and reckoned the race was like the reward for all the training(that is, the hardest part is all the hours of training).

My father said to me the otherday, 'is doing this ironman a lifetime goal?'. Really doing a half ironman was a goal I had some 17 years ago and acheiving this in 2004(4 hrs 38mins) really completed any long term goal I had. So doing a full iron distance event is exceeding my goal and it is only that a race has come to my home area that I am doing it. The training time and logistics of the whole ironman thing is so costly and all time consuming. Coming from the very South of N.Z(where I grew up) and still live mostly it is costly to travel and prepare well for events 1000's of Kms away. Doing this upcoming 'Challenge Wanaka' event is a choice I am happy with but at the same time am mindful that it can be a bit of a selfesh choice to focus so much time to it.

Am thinking to start talking a bit more about photography in this blog, so if it is not your(as a readers) thing then I hope you can skip over it to the ironman/triathlon bits. Any budding photographers out there are welcome to contact me via this site, and can say have made quite a few great contacts so far in this area already.

Better run and todays thought is to 'take care out there on the roads', which I am sure you all give some thought at times.

So here is a bit about photography:

Some of the photos I have sourced for this site are outstanding in my eyes and an example are those of the Australian XPD event. There are many others also which inspire me just as much for showing an event off in great style. As a photographer I can see progress in my own results from committing all my time to it while travelling for 5 months last year. Some of my own series of images which I am happy with were those taken of the Junior World Champs in Hamburg.

Have used the photo.net to get feedback on my images I'm most happy with, and it does show there is diversity of opinion on what is a great image.

Merry New Year and a happy Xmas to all viewers of this site.

23/12/2007

Cross training is one of the reasons I like triathlon so much and to be very good it is often stated not to do other sports. Maybe true but i say keep the dancing(variety of activity), going to a certain degree.

Since this site first got statistics of visitors in early February this year, there have been over 300,000 hits on this site. Thankyou all for checking it out whoever you are and hope some of it has been motivating for you. It has been a source of motivation and enjoyment making up the event pages for me. Everyday for the past 6 months there have been viewers on the site for 24 hours a day pretty much, so I intend to keep it going in 2008.

In the next few days there should be some more images from before and during this years Kona ironman . Also there should be what I think are spectacular images to be displayed on a page from the Australian XPD event, an adventure race held over a week or so. The pages are now done and the blue underlined words are a link to them).

My training is going well and am getting just enough done I think. Between work and some hard out training it has been a busy time.

Altitude ironman training camp.

2/12/2007

Click on the ironman training link above to check out this great training camp.

Firstly about the photo; three of the people instructing us on this camp are a sports scientist, Rob Creasy(extreme left with ankle brace due to a recent racing injury), swim coach Roly Crichton(wheel chair) and triathlon/ironman coach Dr John Hellemans(extreme right). The big version of this photo is on the events page!

Ien Hellemans also come along for the 3rd and 4th day of the camp to help with getting our nutrition right. Steve Gould with some help from his partner Nicky Samuels(ITU triathlete) prepared all the food and organised the overall running of the camp.

We stayed up in a lodge at high altitude on the snow farm(used as a cross country ski field in the Winter) and headed down the mountain to train in the day.

The following is a rough outline of what was covered:

Thursday

- Presentation by John Hellemans (Current coach of many current New Zealand ITU triathletes and coach of ironman legend Erin Baker).

Friday

- Swim 1 hour at the Pool
- 90 km bike circuit of the course.
- easy 40 min run at the snow farm.

- Presentation John Hellemans & Rob Creasy.

Saturday

- Swim open water Lake Hayes 30-40mins
      - 60 km bike over the Crown Range to Wanaka.
          - 21 km lap of ironman course.

          - Core Session.

           - Presentation on Monitoring during rest and training - Rob Creasy

We wore heart rate monitors for the bike and run on the Friday and for all three disciplines on the Saturday. Have never seen such detailed results and the feedback was incredible. Am tempted to get a heart rate monitor for the bike section of the race.

- Training and race day nutrition with Ien Hellemans(N.Z Olympic team nutritionlist).

Ien calculated our hydration status over the course of this day and we got some very interesting feedback from this.

Sunday

- 110km bike covering the rest of the Wanaka ironman course
- 20 min run off the bike.
- A quick dip in Lake Wanaka to cool off.

Will write some more later but the main things I got out of it was race pacing and training for this and raceday nutrition.

There was so much more great stuff but the two areas mentioned above will be the ones with some follow up points on this site. This site is really away of helping myself focus on some important areas to survive and complete an ironman event. Two points to begin is having some more carbohydrates for my pre-race breakfast and to start the run at my pre-determined ironman race pace.

Note to myself is to post some discussion on the heart and relate it to performance.

Another image of some of the group preparing for the ride over the Crown range to Lake Wanaka. This image is taken with Lake Hayes in the background where we had just completed a 30-40min race simulation swim.

Greatly appreciated while at this camp was also a talk with Dr Hellemans about niggling injuries of the hip region and also physiotherapist Andrew Abakhan(based at Lyttleton/Christchurch), who helped myself and several others out.

Some more points to consider:

- may require more salt(sodium) during the race.

- I had better get out and do some more training.

The following is a link to the organisers website of the 'Altitude Training Camp'.

Sponsorship.

18/11/2007

My favourite gear; a new pair of trainers and some swim goggles that fit inside the eye sockets.

Whatever people say, finding the right gear that is suited to yourself is important.

The first company I contacted about sponsoring this site was Brooks in the USA, but didn't hear back. Well you gotta aim high, but was getting a bit ahead of myself. Will give it another go and contact some of the other makers of the most dependable gear in future.

Getting sponsorship is essential to acheiving your best in triathlon. Even better if you have a manager who can source great sponsors for you.

Update and thoughts on blogs.

-A swim background leads to good training ethics. The body needs some exercise to kick into action for the day and swimming first thing with a squad acheives this. For me the earlier in the day to start exercising of any type the better(first check you are recovered from the previous day*).

-The swim is essential for a good start in triathlon(sometimes you will need to be in the front cycle pack in drafting races).

-The above said, I spoke with one guy(three times world champion), who didn't come from a swim background. It is useful to have a strong swim background as a youth but it isn't essential.

Stretching and its beneficial effects.

Firstly I will state that the best way to learn to swim is by getting in the pool and being coached. The option to get coached is available in most larger cities and is open to all ages(usually). Part of my background is swimming close on 22mins three times over an official 1500m course in 2003,(achieved by getting quite swim fit without a coach or swim group). Maybe I swam faster over other distances around that time, but times aren't always easy to ascertain in triathlon.

I grew up on a farm so the option of having regular swim lessons as a kid wasn't really there. Did however get several instructions as a kid on swim technique. In my first years at university I went to the local pools regularly and taught myself by reading swim techiques from several sources.

Below are some notes on swim technique. The piece titled ' The Three Stroke Phases of the Front Crawl' was put together as an exercise for a one year diploma I completed in 2005. Couldn't type or use a computer before that course either so got some skills out of it.

It was also written to try an help me progress my swimming further, but also got a few pointers from coaches(recent years). So now it is published for people who maybe in a similiar situation to what I was.

Since it was written I have looked into the body roll and kick techniques a bit more with help from a guy who swam a 16min(flat) 1500m in a pool. He showed me the 2 beat kick technique and from this I could see how the body roll comes into play. I actually have developed a 6 beat kick which is quite common and also should alow an effective body roll(assuming the co-ordination/technique is right). Have found giving an extra force to a certain one of the kicks in the six beats helps in the whole roll/forward propulsion also. And the young guy described above agreed with my observation of a Michael Phelps world record swim; which was that in a part of his front crawl technique(one completed stroke), he gets more speed. The coverage on television including underwater shots is incredible and can't do any harm in the whole subliminal learning/perfection of technique.

To add to the above paragraph I did watch very closely the fastest swim ever in an ironman(Germany), which was completed in around 41mins(not sure if the guy finished the ironman to make the record stand). It was very clear on television and I was surprised to see that he used a two beat kick for the first 35mins or so. It was only in the last couple of 100m's that he actually upped his kick rate(to 6 beat?). I do try and incorporate some 2 beat kicking into my swim sessions as an exercise, and to try and get the feel of the roll. It is fair to say he wasn't about to win the ironman, so to say his technique is most suitable for ironman may not be true.

So there is alot more to swimming, a coach is neccessary in this sport as is the group training for top results. No doubt there is more than one technique which gives top results.

My other favourite training methods is to occasionally lengthen the catch part of my technique and count the number of strokes to finish a length.

The whole shoulder rotation and stretch of the large back muscles is something else I like to focus on. When swimming distances of more than 1km hard, I even like to change the emphasise from the shoulder muscles to the large back muscles(slightly). Only do this towards the end of the swim and will be interested to ask a swim coaches opinion, about this. I also do this on the bike(think to emphasise the upward part of the peddling) and run training(shortening the stride at times). The above are ways I try an reduce fatigue in training/races.

Obviously training using bilateral breathing is going to help develop an evenly balanced stroke, but some unilateral breathing is also good in my thinking. Unilateral breathing is going to be helpful in open water swimming as often waves or bright sunlight can be avoided by breathing to one side only.

The palm should enter the water in line with the shoulder and should face slightly outward on entry. Your forearm and upper arm should enter the same place as the hand entry. The arm is extended forward as you roll this shoulder forward and down. This will engage the large latissimus dorsi muscle of the back. Lifting the opposite shoulder high out of the water at the same time adds further to the streamlining of the body. On your outstretched arm bend at the elbow and press fingers hand and forearm(fhf), firstly down to hold the water and then backwards.

As you pull the fhf structure towards your midline, the elbow will move gradually closer to the 90 degree angle. The hand changes pitch slightly during this in-sweep in order to catch more water, so as not to slip(like climbing and underwater ladder).

Push your hand as far back as you can towards your thigh. Your hand will move outwards as it moves back and this will complete the “ S “ shaped underwater pull. This will engage your triceps muscle, and as it tires you may find yourself shortening up your exit point . To be aware of this exit, rub your thumb nail against your thigh to maintain the same extension. The palm should exit the water facing the opposite end of the pool.

Your hand should be relaxed during all phases; it is less effective to squeeze your fingers together.
Turning your head sideways to breath should be incorporated into your body roll. The head should move smoothly to the side just enough to take air, while the arm opposite the breathing enters the water and roll back(as the arm is in the in-sweep).
During the recovery phase(hand out of water), the hand is directly below the elbow, and then it takes over leading the recovery. Keeping the arm straight throughout the recovery phase is the alternative and there is said to be little difference to swimming speed. The former maybe more efficient.
All the time you should been kicking, with your ankles fully extended.

The above said, I am going to be a bit short on swim mileage going into this ironman(such is life). A new local pool in Queenstown has been in the pipeline since before 2003 and won't be operational before this years Wanaka Ironman, so its cutting down my options at the present time. Tried to coerce a mate to do a hike on the Remarkables ski field this weekend for a bit of untouched snow, but he didn't go for it. Won't be doing it, but like cross training(swimming is at the back of my mind, in the present climate). Have revised my sub 60 min swim time target to around 60mins.

Breaking through the psychological barrier for going the distance.

Well we survived a 145km ride/journey. It wasn't fast and it wasn't pretty but its a good one to have under the belt.

Have never felt so good after riding such a distance, so added an extra 15km ride soon after we got home to round it up to 160kms. As usual, did a short run after and the legs felt good. Can recall only 5 times before covering a distance of around 140km, but never did the legs feel like going further. The next day we did an easy 30km ride and it felt good. And 2 days later(today), managed a 20km run which was pretty easy to complete, but do have very tired quads now. The best thing is no sign of a niggling injury that slowed me down over the past 2 years.

Having a training partner for the past 2 weeks has been invaluable and the weather in Tauranga has been very suitable for riding; a bit windy at times but very warm. My training partner is an old mate from a running club, back at university. Never did run together though as he was a 400m runner(48sec). So he powered away from me on the hills, of which there was plenty. I used the excuse that it was the time trial bars and my running shoes that slowed me down. Have cycle shoes and clips down South N.Z, but it was a bit costly to buy new ones for a few rides in the North Island..

Think eating the right diet helped with this ride. It is the first time I have felt confident that finishing the upcoming ironman is in my grasp.

Based on previous experience will aim to average 30-32km/hr for the 180kms, so as to actually run the marathon. The course for 'Challenge Wanaka' is flat for the first 100km then gets into a few more rolling hills so 30-32km/hr should be a good solid target(the speed range to work in is for different weather conditions). Never have I held back before on the bike, but will for my first ironman as have plenty of time to use any spare energy on the run(at least thats the plan).

My old mate from university days and myself(right) about to head out on a ride( the day after the 145km workout). It was supposed to be 100km, by my mates map reading calculations. There was an extra 10km due to a wrong turn, however an extra 35km was a bit out. It turned out to be what I had wanted to do(one long ride a few months out). It is unlikely I would have actually set out to do it, or have managed it by myself.

Just thinking today what inspires me to do this site and the training. Many things, but one common theme is that I am in awe of those who complete an ironman, and guess it is goal that has been in my mind for along time. The guys who can go hard out for eight hours without a break are pushing the boundaries of endurance which I find interesting to see also.

My mate above told me he managed to have a good go at triathlon a few years back, and his times were a bit faster than mine. He must have been going well to do some cycle training with the Sheldrake brothers. And his cycle times for 2 previous 160km Lake Taupo cycle races are like 4 1/2hrs(sounds decent to me).

The last month of my travels.

After leaving Europe I spent one week in Beijing, China, then one week in South Korea then two weeks in Bali. So below will go into what training was acheived.

Beijing : absolutely no training, however was quite exhausted after one week here. Stayed in the YHA opposite the central train station. Everytime I got my breathing up a bit, could feel my lungs clogging up with the polltued air, so this didn't encourage me to go running. The stay in Beijing is the only city where I haven't at least managed a run, as logistically it was difficult..

Did run after the bus at the airport however when it left for central Beijing with my backpack on board and not me. Was only 10 meters away paying for the bus ticket when it took off at a great rate of knots. The trip deteriorated after this(see ITU Beijing race report) even though I got my backpack back. A lady at the station radioed the bus and got it to wait at a stop down the road. Had expectatations that Beijing would be the most interesting part of my 4 month travels and it was, but not for all the right reasons.

The most enjojable part of the stop in China was the trip to the Zoo(above left is the Panda and at right another species of Chinese Bear). To see more of the Chinese wildlife click here.

On to South Korea. Straight away it felt like I was back to civilisation. Caught a train 5 hours South to Ulsan and stayed with a friend; well he introduced me as a friend of his brothers but still looked after me superbly. His identical brother is actually a guy I spend alot of time with and even more since we bought a boat together; every weekend him, his wife and boy are out on Lake Wakatipu fishing or doing water sports. Didn't know about his identical brother to I saw a picture of him finishing a half marathon in a quick time. Very strange seeing double of your mate. So had a run planned but it didn't eventuate and instead we played tennis, which was great and a refreshing change. The next evening we travelled to Busan where one of his wifes friends was opening a new Nightclub, so it was a long night of free beers. Was taken along to try the Korean hot bathes which was a memorable experience, but it felt a bit strange walking around nude with lots of people around, then trying to sleep on a floor without a mat(as they do).

Managed to get some good training sessions done in Bali and this comprised 5 runs along the beaches ranging from 40-80mins. And 4 sea swims of 30-40mins. Was thinking about it at the time and that is I would never do sea swims in New Zealand or Australia(don't like Sharks), even though there are some very safe beaches. Met up with a couple of girls in Bali and travelled around the island with them and the beaches were contusive to swimming where we stayed. One of the girls was very keen to walk to top of a Volcano to see the sunrise so I was happy to go along. This was no doubt great fitness training so will post here a couple of pictures to prove we made it..

Above is a travel companion and myself with a lake and rice fields in the foreground, pictured with the rising sun. It was an early start with the aid of a flash light, to make it to the volcanoes summit on time.

Must admit I had more energy and felt healthier after the week with my friend pictured above, and it lasted till now( 2 weeks later). Maybe have felt stronger over the past two weeks because I was living in my own house with my own space or maybe it was taking some genuine time-out in Bali for 2 weeks. Took posession of a property back in back in 2002 but have never lived in it, so it was a new experience to stay in my own place.

So now have been back in N.Z for 8days and clocked up some 200kms on the bike including 3 good runs directly after cycling. Also managed several more decent runs up to 80mins duration and couple of swims. This was all done in Tauranga where I stopped off to sort out the tenancy of my house. Fortunately my mate that lives around the corner is training to do the 160km Taupo cycle race in late November so have had a motivated training partner. This weekend we plan to do a 100km ride and he is a bit aprehensive even though it is his idea(we both need the mileage). Tomorow however the plan is to to photograph a local surf competition and run a couple of laps of the Mount. It has been snowing to low levels in the South of New Zealand the past week so am contemplating some wind trainer time coming up.

Bought a bike off a cousin in the USA and got him to send it to Tauranga, so this worked out well, and it is good to get some use out of this purchase. It was so well kept it looks brand new, at least thats what customs said when they imposed another $220 duty on it. Ironman and triathlon is not cheap, so have started setting some time lines to wind down my competing. Will still keep cycling and running and swimming on a regluar basis though. Am actually feeling in really good shape with no injuries to speak of so looking forward to a few hard workouts.

My last night in Europe on this trip and some reflection.

Am sitting in a cafe in Copenhagen making this entry(it is my second visit here on this trip). It is pretty much my favourite city in Europe and is a good model to others. The people are friendly and they keep healthy. Read today that 36% of them bike to work and the city leaders want to increase this above 60%. The bikes are free to hire in Copenhagens centre. Like England I noticed alot of police activity around certain important places, but guess that is a sign of the times. Didn't use a bike in Copenhagen but managed a couple of runs along the canals.

The above city model of cycling reminded me of catching up with a friend in Paris a month back. Was waiting outside my accomadation and didn't even see him approach but for the screech of bike tyres. He pulled up and after the usual welcoming said, "I'll get a bike for you", so he sorted it for me and we were off. The bike thing is a new city initiative and is a great idea. Couldn't keep up with him on the bike but it was good. The bikes are heavy but the city is flat and it helped that I had someone to follow. He really treated me so well, showing me the sites and shouting me lunch. Later that evening his wife and him picked me up at my hotel and took me to a jazz club, his friends had paid for the Champagne when I went to get it.

My other french friends treated me equally well and one even put me up in his central Paris home/photo studio on my last night there. The other had me stay for 4 nights in Southern France and treated me great also. Unreal!!

My England based South African friend also went out of his way to accomadate me, and together with all the rest making this trip great for me.

Have managed do some training most days and even lost weight due to eating less. Been very busy travelling and photographing such that I didn't get time to eat. Also running out of the local currency in the different parts of Europe recently and not wanting to exchange more. Did have some luck finding 50 euros in a Spanish city last week. Would have given it to the police but it was just a single rolled up note. Walked past a homeless person soon after and felt sad so gave 10 euros away. It wasn't much but the hotel in this city was the most expensive of my trip. Have been sheltered from this in New Zealand. Well made me feel better so it wasn't too altruistic. Managed some runs along the beaches and rivers of the towns in North Spain and felt pretty good.

Ironman preparation and psychology.

Am going to be relying on all those previous years of training and knowledge, but below is some more on the present.

The three day weekend in Wanaka for the mini- training camp in late November should be a good part of my build-up. A link to this training camp can be found somewhere on the canterburytriclub.co.nz website. Will try to find this link and post it here.

Am sitting in an airport in the North of Spain writing this and contemplating what lies ahead. It might look a bit funny, but I like to do a few stretches and static strength building exercises while waiting for the planes. Stretching is recommended during flying also to reduce the incidence of deep vein thrombosis(DVT), which can effect people who fly due to reduced blood flow etc.

Mentioned in the 'Mens World Champs' events page is the topic of sports psychology. So what do I know about sports psychology? Well I completed the first year course at university and was asked to do honours,(but chose other areas of education). Some knowledge of psychology or the 'study of the brain and its behaviuoral effects'(at least a basic understanding) has been useful. Occasionally I try to think like a bird on my shoulder looking in from the outside(but not often). Also occasionally I like to reassess my morals/ beliefs and if they need to change as the world moves on.

The above paragraph is probably a bit vague, but where I am trying to get to, is that ones own personal state of mind will impact on how they perform in sports or even work/everyday life. Of course you must believe in yourself(self confidence), to achieve at your highest potential. Also it helps to surround yourself with people who share your belief and goals. Have heard many people say how they have people close to them that hold them back or don't believe in their goals, and read this was the case for Peter Reid. To gain power by trying to prove someone wrong such as parents can be done, but it is a hard way to success.

Parents have a powerful influence and may try and set goals for you that are counterproductive to your own. Most of us can only acheive one goal at a time if it requires attaining knowledge and physical ability.

When people say they visualise an event before its completion and even the winning of the event, this is sports psychology. Must say I have only ever done this to a limited degree, but do believe it is useful. Maybe we do it in our dreams, as we often only have an idea of them(dreams) sometimes, when we awaken during them. Thats how it is for me anyway.

Another commonly coined phrase is the feeling of 'being in the zone'. Some people experience this before or during an event/competition. My perception of this is a clarity of thoughts prior to an event. It is useful if this clarity of thought is directed to the sport goal that is most imminent. The other time for me(in the zone) is when time seems to slow down while you are performing at your maximum. This slowing of time could be contributed to a massive burst of adrenalin, which affects certain parts of the brain and it allows one to push boundaries of achievement. Adrenalin bursts could be brought on by your home crowd screaming or directing all there energies on there local favourites, I would say.

Really just wanted to make a short list of the reasons local athletes can achieve what could be described as sub-maximal performance. This home advantage was obvious in the Worlds at Hamburg and my list is as follows:

- better sleeping prior to the event as the body is used to the entire environment, eg. your own bed, food, language.

- host countries often put more sponsor money into their athletes allowing them to reach there peaks without financial strain(saves alot of energy).

- local athletes rightly peak for big events in their own country as the rewards are often times greater.

So the opposite of gaining a hometown advantage is saying it is a disadvantage and words used to describe it are 'choking' or 'implosion'. This implosion can be caused by too much expectations of ones self. There are plenty of other mindsets which could hinder achievement, but won't go into that list.

The strongest mindsets will no doubt win through. The next question to a strong mindset is the idea of winning at any costs. Sportsmanship and the use of banned substances come in here.

Have a strong mindset such as focus, determination, consistency and perserverance.....etc.....and don't let it be interupted by trivia.

Offer to serious athletes.

By the time this is posted, I will have sent out an e-mail to a few friends/associates that are involved in triathlon/ironman regarding a place to stay in New Zealand.

I own a house in Tauranga which has become free at the time of my arrival back in New Zealand(N.Z), so plan to live there for a month or so. During this month the plan is to do a solid block of training and catch up with some people and business.

After this I will be based in Southland(Southern most N.Z), and will have a place to myself here also. This location in a small town is just 20 minutes directly inland, and is my favourite training place. During the late Spring and Summer at least the climate is good for training and the roads are decent and quiet. The weather is usually good at this inland location, but if it isn't I head further inland to Central Otago where I have family and friends. Just 25 mins from my family is the Wanaka Ironman course, so plan to do a couple of 90km loops on the course in the months prior to the event.

There are good training groups for triathletes in both these areas including cycle groups and decent pools with the fast lane swimmers training at elite pace. I only plan to do the odd bike ride with these groups because they also push pretty hard. This can and is good but its tough if you are having an off day.

My training will consist of easy 1-2 hour runs 4 days a weeks and 1.5-4.5 hour rides(averaging 30km/hr+) 4 days a week. They will all be at steady pace, but will try and fit some repeats into them occasionally. These repeats sessions will involve for example on the bike or run picking up the pace for 5 mins then slowing down for say 2mins and doing this 5 times in total.

And swimming whenever possible in lakes and pools. For the 2003 age group world champs and qualifying race my swim was just over 22mins on theofficial 1500m course both times and 90% or so of my training was done in a lake. So I prefer swim training in a lake and intend to repeat this also. Would be cool to go under 60mins for the 3.8km swim!

I enjoy and most often prefer training by myself, but do admit training with others who are a bit better improves performance usually.

Well reckon I'll need some sort of game plan to complete the ironman, so the above is part of this plan.

When the pack with the camera gear was taken off, the balancing was tricky!....excuse.... excuse......

Maintaining some fitness would be a better description as training(to me), implies making improvements and following some sort of plan.

- 5 swims on different days, including 3 decent swims in calm bays in the South of France of about 3km. If you find yourself with time to spare in Nice, 'Ville France' is a very nice sandy beach to relax on and the water is very flat in this bay also for swimming.

- cycling on three days, including 2 good days of mountain biking in the English Lakes District. Shown below is some photos from the trip made to the Lakes District with a friend who does Ironman races.

- 5 or more runs. This included 2 long runs in Hamburg, the first of which I ran myself to a standstill. Carried on running with very heavy legs(exhausted quads), but no niggling injuries. Really think this was some of the best training as imagine it will simulate how the legs could feel in an Ironman. Ran to a standstill after the second lap of the large lake in Hamurg's centre. It is a very pleasant run and on the second day things went much better over the same distance of 16+ km's.

While travelling I enjoy going out for a run once settled into a new area. Running is a great way to see some more of an area, as is cycling.

Below is a series of shots from the Lakes District in England. Have fond memories of this area, having worked there for a year back in 2001/2002.

By the way have put my name down to do the Ironman training camp in November with John Hellemans and the swim coach guy from Christchurch(Rolly Chrighton). Have experienced both these guys training styles before and have no doubts about their committment. New Zealand triathletes are doing well on the world stage because the country is contusive to outdoor activity and there is a good knowledge base for certain sports. Smaller countries have the benefit of this knowledge being diseminated to all those with the right mindset to do well.

This blog is my personal thoughts and passions, as is often the case for other peoples blogs, so the next paragraph may seem unrelated to some on what ironman/triathlon coaching is all about.

In my view New Zealand(my nationality), is the home of the best Sheep shearers(machine) in the world and I was fortunate enough to experience the best coaches at this also. New Zealand has turned shearing into a sport. Before going on, I should state that this is due to focusing on it, and because inexpensive training is available to all through a larger organisation. So why bring this up? Because it has been described to me that the world record attempts(and successes) for the 9 hour days is like doing two marathons back to back. It is an endurance sport involving the whole body like ironman, and like ironman it has its own techniques to success. Also I discuss it because the New Zealand coaches were hands on and their knowledge and had me going incredibly well. Didn't stick with it(for reasons I won't go into), but basically the teaching was all technique. They would tap the learner on the hand when the technique was out by a fraction(but used sparingly). Have heard this technique being used similiarly by swim coaches using a stick to get the timing right for teaching young swimmers in particular. This sort of coaching, plus a bit of verbal advice would be useful and invaluable to perfect the swimming technique. Men are much more powerfully built in the upper body, but even so the Womans world record times aren't that far off indicating that technique and dynamics involving slicing through the water are involved.

The image above(right) was taken recently in Morocco and shows where many drugs originated; ie. natural sources.

My understanding is that many of the professional triathletes/ironman are doing altitude training to reach their peaks. It is very true that the red blood cells of the body generate more of a certain chemical at altitude. More of this chemical increases the red blood cells oxygen carrying capacity. No doubt it is also useful for practising hill climbing on the bike as well.

Have heard that running up hills strenghthens the muscle groups that help the knee lift part of the running action, so another reason to spend some time in the mountains.

Running down a slight hill can make you run faster also, but this amuses me as see only the joke side of this.

Must say cafeine is pretty much legal and it has been proven to boost performance. However caffeine has diuretic effects which in plain english means, 'more stops at the bathroom'. Drinking more fluids will be required as a result.

So that really brings me to discuss banned methods in sports. I use the term banned methods to encompass banned substances/drugs and banned techniques such as blood doping.

Blood doping entails the athlete drawing off ones own blood weeks or months prior to an event, then reinfusing it at the time of an important event. The body quickly replaces the blood that was drawn off all those weeks/months prior so when the collected blood is reinfused the body has more red blood cells(RBCs) in circulation. More RBC's equates to more oxygen carrying ability to the cells of the body. Oxygen is a key component in generating energy in the cells so it gives a big boost to performance. Hopefully this technique is laid to rest by drug testing agencies.

Couldn't avoid discussing illegal drug use or other related banned techniques to boost performance. This is because it is so disapointing to hear how common it is in certain sports.

The scandals that have surrounded this and last years 'Tour de France', involving blood doping and anabolic steroids are hard to believe, but it now seems as though drugs have been embedded in cycling for some time.

My previous work involved the day to day administration of anabolic steroids for certain kidney conditions for example, so my background is a formal training to understand all of this and many other drugs actions fully.

About a year ago I attended a conference that changed my views on the charges laid against cyclists in the 'Tour de France'. A guest speaker who worked in one of the worlds foremost universities(and privately), in the field of detecting minute amounts of foreign chemicals spoke for an hour or more. He explained several examples of detecting minute chemicals and how they could be traced. It was incredible how advanced they are and there is no mistaking a synthetic versus the bodies(natural) anabolic steroids, going by what he explained.

So a reason for this post is to make people aware that the detection agencies are getting incredibly advanced. Hopefully if more people are aware of this, it will reduce the incidence.

I don't think the drug agencies give advance notice when their detection methods improve, but most of there work is published in specialised journals which are available in many university libraries.

Going by the amount of illegal drug use and banned techniques(eg. blood doping), that are being detected I have had to rethink the belief that the elite sportspeople in certain sports are following the rules and are drug free.

I did have a personal experience while in my first year of university of illegal drugs for sports. Was in the universities gym with my teams clothing on when an older guy approached me and said, ' to play your sport at the top level you will have to be bigger' and the offer of anabolic steroids was then made. I just said 'no' and that was the end of it.

The above took place closer to 20 years ago than 10 years ago and I mention it for several reasons:

-Firstly it is clear that cycling is not the only sport that has concerns with its participants taking banned substances.

-I avoided this gym from then on and recommend anyone to avoid being around such offers as well.

Have just been reading through a sports science blog spot and felt the need to comment because I disagree with their acceptance/reasoning of using banned drugs.

Several reasons why I believe banned performance enhancing drugs and other illegal techniques should be tested for and enforced with punnishments/seriuos repercusions are as follows:

- when some athletes use banned substances and others don't, it is no longer an equal playing field.

- the use of drugs for producing enhanced performance is fraught with danger ; get the dosage wrong or overuse and the consequences can be life threatening or life shortening.

- banned substances can allow an athlete to train more effectively, for example less training for better results and quicker recover. That is, it is cheating and bad sportmanship.

- there are drugs out there which I am aware of that can make athletes blow world records away. The rewards to the athlete are enormous if they are not caught. Therefore samples should be kept and those caught cheating should be severely punnished in my view(more severely than a 2 year ban anyway).

These drugs could also be used in any sports where betting has been involved. Betting and sport could encourage all sorts of incentives to cheat which is a whole new topic.

The next step which I hope is taken to detect drug cheats is that samples are kept for many years after and retested for drugs developed that the detection agencies aren't aware of at the present time.

It is about time to make an addition to the training blog, so it is what I have managed in the past month.

Managed a couple of easy 1-2 hour rides in the Austrian towns of Salzburg and Kitzbuhel. It was very easy/reasonably priced to hire the bikes and they had the best cycling tracks I have come across.

Also managed a swim over the course in the little lake in Kitzbuhel and it was just the right temperature without a wetsuit.

In England the best training was a 1 hour session at a fitness centre running on a tread mill and a very easy swim. The fitness centres single visit rate was o.k considering it was a good facility and was less than the 10 pounds I recall for a similiar one in North-West England 5 years ago.

I always believe it is better to keep some light training ticking over than doing nothing. Would like to have done a swim on the Salford course but it was a bit too cold for no wetsuit. There is usually a training time scheduled for the age group triathletes to swim the course prior to the event as otherwise it would look strange to see someone swimming in a Manchester canal.

Am sitting in a YHA hostel in Nice/France and the day has finally cooled down so I had better get out and do a run. Am trying to reflect on what other training has been done in the past month; did manage a couple of decent runs along the beach in Tarifa, but that was 3 weeks ago.

Have some more specific training planned in the upcoming weeks but will go into this when it is closer. Will make sure to get some images of the mountain bike training planned in 2 weeks time.

Am very close to booking into doing an ironman training camp in New Zealand at the end of November also, for a bit of fine tuning. Will go into this later also.

This was the one beach I used for training in Spain in the evenings when it was cooler and the crowds had gone away.

To see some kite boarding action from the world series photographed at this beach click here.

'Train in Spain'.

Had a few spare days in Valencia due to the America's cup finishing several days earlier than my expectations/wishes, so managed a couple of long runs.

The title of this 'Train in Spain', come into my mind for several reasons but mainly as it fits comfortably for me.

Most of us have role models and one of my favourites in endurance sport is Paula Radcliffe from England. Anyone who can break a world record in a sport that has been around some time is impressive. Granted, the depth in the womans marathon fields doesn't match the mens but hey, it was still a good time. A recollection from a few years back was that she did a block of solid training in Spain, before breaking the world record. Another event in a much shorter race of the olympic games was also inspiring.

It is no surprise to me to see that the 'numero uno' male and female in olympic distance triathlon come from Spain and Portugal at the time of writing.

'Train in Spain' could be more broadly put as 'train in a warm/hot climatic area'.

The reasons below are my own generalisations of why training in such a climate is useful :

- it is a bit easier to keep weight of the body due to less energy requirements for maintaining body temperature,

- it's good for speed training as running clothes used are lighter and the muscles stay warm. The blood circulation is detrimentally affected if the muscles are cold,

- it's good race simulation, as running in heat is similiar to pushing yourself to the maximum. That is your body is going to be generating alot of heat during races and it helps if you are used to this,

- for most endurance sports maintaining a lower body mass index helps to acheive the desired/winning VO2 max(oxygen/glycagen energy output). Put in more everyday words it is attaining the best weight to power generating ratio.

By the way the writer of this blog is not an expert in 'training/coaching', however my background knowledge does definitely entail the basis of physiology and 'sports injury basics'.

My background knowledge is a 'BSc' majoring in Physiology(1992), a 'post graduate bachelors degree' in a medically related field BVSc(1995) and a 'diploma of teaching and learning'(2005).

This blog is the writers generalisations/interpretations. This is particularly stated because, what is useful information for one person may not be right for someone else(eg. different body physiologies and changes with age).

Sports injuries basics.

Have been thinking to write on this subject for some time, as it is quite common in triathlon/ironman from what I see.

Will discuss here some basics related to chronic(long term cause/resolution) and acute(short term cause) injuries.

Was advised by a very prominant pro triathlete/ironman from days gone by that injuries go hand in hand with the job.

In my own case like many others it is not my job, but still managed a few injuries along the way.

Personally I like to listen to my body closely and hold back when something is up. Some years back I developed and acute tear of a tendon behind the knee, and even though I was very fit and could have kept going hard, I took a month or so out.

-With acute injuries, the R.I.C.E method is often followed, that is Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation.

All four of these methods are useful to reduce the initial swelling and pain, but there is one important element missing and that is anti-inflammatories(the likes of aspirin and ibroprofen).

So yes, have treated myself with little outside assistance (but knowledge from my background), for a very serious partial rupturing of multiple tendons and ligaments of the foot and knee at the same time. I believe you don't want to over do any of the above (R.I.C.E and anti-inflammatories) and to keep up easy movement.

So what is all this about? We all want to remove pain so that is important, but a bigger take on it is to reduce the bodies 'over reaction' to the trauma. Basically the body is too good at healing itself and works a bit fast. Working to fast is painful due to all the 'repair cells' rushing to the injury, and it can also result in 'excess' scar tissue. An example of excess scarring is a ligament healing too fast and ending up 'shortened'.

Injuries involving ligaments(for example) will often also require some easy stretching to get the range of movement back to its original state. The timing and techniques required of this easy stretching will depend on an individual case by case basis.

Once the initial swelling subsides it can be useful to increase the blood supply and techniques used are ultrasound and light massage/easy movements

Complete ruptures require surgical repair, but for the rest the body is amazing at healing itself. Managed well, the injury will very often return to its initial state/strength.

-With chronic injuries the treatments are different and quite broad. An injury that last several years or more is a reasonable definition of long term(or chronic). Chronic injuries can very in severity from very minor to very severe. With long term injuries it is not uncommon to carry on as normal as possible and try and train through it.

Long term injuries can be completely resolved, but are likely to require more time to do so(compared with acute injuries).

Won't go into detailed treatments of chronic injuries as there are alot of people out there proposing all sorts of things! Cutting back on very strenuous activities and keeping weight off the body are good starting points though. Keeping weight off(or at least maintaining a healthy body mass index) can be hard, but is important. Strengthening and some stretching exercises of the area associated with the chronic injury to provide support are also useful(commonly recommended by physiotherapists).

Am sure you can gain more knowledge on the subject by searching the internet or talking with informed people. It should help your understanding if the inevitable occurs.

- take time out from training during illness such as flu viruses, or at least cut back to easy sessions.

A healthy dinner in San Deigo.

The food in San Deigo is a triathlon dieticians dream. At least that was the case for this meal and all the others I had over the week spent here. Can testify that the guy on the right(not looking at the camera) hasn't eaten this much healthy food for some time, and it was beginning to show on the waistline.

Was really well looked after for this stay and even managed a bit of swimming and running. There are plenty of canyons to run in all over San Deigo, however it may take a bit of acclimatising to as there is little breeze and the air temp was like 30 degrees plus. Was warned in advance that the canyons are home to Mountain Lions(rarely) and Rattle Snakes among other life threatening creatures. Watched my step closely, however only come across a nice little Falcon on my last day.

Was wishing this stay was longer, as San Deigo is nice in so many ways. Will hopefully visit again someday and find time to take the camera for a walk in the canyons as well as some training.

Thankyou to the waiter at the 'Naked Cafe', who took this photo so that we could all be in it.

The picture was taken to show not only the healthy food(rice and salad based meals), but also a group of 'tri geeks' catching up. That is with the exception of the guy on the left who put up with the rest of the table for the sake of his partner. I say 'tri geeks' as one of the group put it this way and it is not far wrong with most of the table committing many years to the sport in various ways.

The knowledge and support of friends and associates is invaluable for making the ride smoother in the multi faceted triathlon/ironman competitions. An add onto this is to keep a balance family, friends, work and hobbies. This is all really stating the obvious but like to remind myself occassionally of this, and think it is useful advice.

An added note on reflection(26/10/07), of my world tour is that America was the country with the best opportunities. Would definitely live there given the opportunity, but this is mostly based on my weeks stay in Honolulu and San Deigo.

First post-race training.

Post race thoughts.

Recovery 2 days after.

Race Day 'Challenge Wanaka' 2008.

Taper update.

Taper update.

Photography and copyright.

Comparing oneself to others.

Taper update.

Changing metabolism/physiology and run down to Wanaka.

Tapering.

The Challenge Wanaka Iron Distance event is feeling pretty imminent.

Merry New Year and a happy Xmas to all viewers of this site.

Altitude ironman training camp.

Sponsorship.

Update and thoughts on blogs.

Stretching and its beneficial effects.

Swim skills.

Breaking through the psychological barrier for going the distance.

The last month of my travels.

My last night in Europe on this trip and some reflection.

Ironman preparation and psychology.

Offer to serious athletes.

Training while travelling in Europe.

Getting the edge legally versus banned methods.

'Train in Spain'.

Sports injuries basics.

A healthy dinner in San Deigo.

Motivations and training for the goal of completing an Ironman.

Nutrional needs of training and racing(part I).