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Chasing the Kona dream and a Mai Tai cocktail
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Aliya Wailing Bench wrote: »Tried out the new big buoy on a few of them, cut the legs off me so i would advise those who got one to go with long speedos to protect the inside of the thighs.
Hahahhahaha, the hobbit wears budgie smugglers!!!
It that because jammers cover your knees??0 -
Aliya Wailing Bench wrote: »I hope that is a good :eek:
I'm led to believe when you're actually a good swimmer pull buoy should be slower.
Mental. I know.
Didn't realise AD was so soon...0 -
shotgunmcos wrote: »Lots of sleep this week. You have been very consistent since Barcelona and I wish you well
I find pull buoy to be 5 secs or more slower per 100 than without. How can the times be similar when you cut out the legs?!
Poor body position and no kick would be a cause for me. Pull buoy used to be the guts of 10sec quicker per 100 than swimmining as it was correcting those issues. Now that they are equal timewise shows some improvement in both those areas.Hahahhahaha, the hobbit wears budgie smugglers!!!
It that because jammers cover your knees??
No budgie smugglers here, just hotpants:) I am actually talking about the longer knee length ones:)0 -
Aliya Wailing Bench wrote: »I hope that is a good :eek:Aliya Wailing Bench wrote: »Poor body position and no kick would be a cause for me. Pull buoy used to be the guts of 10sec quicker per 100 than swimmining as it was correcting those issues. Now that they are equal timewise shows some improvement in both those areas.
The :eek: was because of what shotgun and RQ indicated. But the good news is two-fold - you understand the issue is body position (hips too low)/poor kick technique AND that you are improving.
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Aliya Wailing Bench wrote: »No budgie smugglers here, just hotpants:) I am actually talking about the longer knee length ones:)
Since I moved to jammers there is no way I'll go back to the hot pants...despite the calls in my local pool
Wow, hard to believe it is so close. The first highly anticipated race report of 2013, can't wait. I hope you have a stress free week leading up to it too.0 -
Aliya Wailing Bench wrote: »No budgie smugglers here, just hotpants:) I am actually talking about the longer knee length ones:)
Are you kicking with your big buoy*?
Finally got to swim with it today and it felt like I was going to tip over frontwards. I actually kicked over the top of the pool end on a couple of turns and all the time I was thinking how is JB handling this!!
*gonna have to name this BB or something to avoid sounding like Beevis & Butthead
Feet up, no mountain bike this week!! and hopefully Crocket sorts out your tubs issue. 0 -
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Hey JB - admirable honesty.
You may not want to answer, but specifically on AD...
1) was the main issue mechanical or something else? You'd been alluding to mechanical issues on Twitter just before hand...
2) Was the 37min T2 a timing glitch or other? The race wouldn't be the best for it's timing & tracking.
He doesn't
1) There were mechanical issues. There were other issues too.
2) No it was a legit T2 time0 -
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Aliya Wailing Bench wrote: »I have been told by the boss at home to do up a race report even though i don't want to. Will stick it up later.
I was going to say you should write on anyway. Wise woman your missus, great minds and all that.
Writing a report is a great way to get it all together in your head. Hard for us to comment when we don't know what happened and you probably don't want us to anyway.
Maybe time to take a step back, reassess and rebuild. You work hard, you're dedicated and you have got the ability. Maybe you're doing too much too soon or aiming too high too early, only one here who is there for all your training sessions is you so only you can decide that.
No doubt you'll still knock out the consistent sessions. It'll come together eventually. Patience, consistency, hard work...it'll come together. You certainly deserve it to.
[/nice stuff]
Maybe you should enter a kids race next time, Pulse have a whole series of them. 0 -
Abu Dhabi Triathlon - Race Report
Race lead up
Flew out with Liam Dolan on the early flight on Wednesday morning. First positive of the week was dodging the bike fee charges for our bike boxes. Liam had pulled an amazing bluff saying the bike boxes were covered as the airline was one of the sponsors (complete nonsense of course). We nearly caved in after a mexican stand-off of about 10 minutes only for them to give in and we got away cheaply.
Onto the flight and it was a case of relaxing and watching a few movies to pass time on the 8hr flight. I was glad to be sitting down relaxing as Monday/Tuesday had been busy days with work and with me running around trying to get my rear race wheel sorted. Also getting to bed late on Tuesday night did not help.
We arrived over late on Wednesday night and we checked into the hotel. Positive no 2 as we got away cheaply on a room share with no additional charge. This was turning out to be a cheap trip. I got some food into me and settled in for the night. I did not sleep well and had an interrupted sleep.
Thursday we woke early at around 6:50 and we had decided to head down to the race start to get a practice swim in. We met with Matt Molloy and Owen Martin and the 4 of us headed down for a splash. Thinking back now i was a little tired on the Thursday morning but thought nothing of it. Wetsuit on and out we went, Matt took off followed by Owen and Liam. I decided to go off at my own pace and save racing for race day. We decided to do one loop of 1.5k. I threw in some fast strokes and practiced sighting off the race buoys. Swam just ok and when I got out it looked like Matt had already changed and had several coffees waiting on the rest of us, very fast swimmer. It would seem that Liam swam over to Africa and back has he slightly misjudged the race course, probably ended up doing the 3k .
Built the bikes up and myself and Liam headed out for an hour on the bike. I was due to have some 8min efforts in the session but we had limited options to cycle out there and the place we made do with had 3 turnaround points and only a few kms long so had to make do. Felt strong on the bike and no issues after building it back up thankfully. We spent the afternoon chilling at poolside talking like two old grannies in a bingo hall.
I done a run later in the evening which I cut a little short as I was feeling a little tired. It felt good although hr a little high. We headed down to the pasta party that evening and chilled before hitting bed early enough for what was a good sleep compared to Wednesday night. Up early Friday morning and out on the bike for a shorter spin and a short run off to keep some sharpness there. Both bike and run not feeling as good as I would have liked.
Hit the breakfast buffet hard again when I got back. Standing there getting my porridge and look to my right ah there is Alistair Brownlee, morning...normal enough I thought!! Once finished it was time to get down to the race venue and get the bikes and bags dropped in, something that I like to do early to save any stressing later in the day.
Once done back to the hotel and a nice dip in the sea in just the togs. I felt like I was swimming better without the wetsuit and decided if it was a non wetsuit swim then I was really not that bothered by it. Ended up back in the room after and felt dog tired all of a sudden so decided on 40 winks, it turned out to be more like 80 winks and Liam said I was out cold for near 2hrs, obviously needed it.
Hit the buffet dinner and seen Macca floating around. I stuffed in as much food as possible before heading up to the room to try to get to bed early. It was around 1:30am or so by the time I got asleep, both myself and Liam were restless and could not sleep so ended up talking like two little girls on a sleepover trying to kill time. Probably only got the guts of 2hrs sleep before the alarm went off.
Race morning
Up at 3:50 and down to breakfast, the nerves were steadily building and i could tell Liam's were to. We met Owen for brekkie and he looked to be going through the same pre race nerves as both of us. Stuffed in as much food as I could have which was not much but the most I could stomach. Off we headed to race start in the darkness off to do battle often questioning my own sanity as to why do we do this again.
Got to transition, got bottles and nutrition sorted for the bike. I start to pump up the loan race wheels I got from Tango and the rear valve falls apart in my hand, I try to fix it with Owen and no dice it would not inflate. Whilst all this going on i could not help but laugh at Macca holding Liam's pump whilst he was putting air in his tyres....and who is the world-renowned pro This made me laugh and it turns out Liam told him to make himself useful and hold the pump. Panic stations set in as I ran around transition looking for a bike mechanic. About half an hour later I finally got sorted and whilst not 100% the mechanic said the valve should hold for the race, hardly ideal just before the race.
A few last visits to the toilet to clear the system and we headed down to the swim start to see the pros start. I was mindful of the line they took out to the first buoy and visualised replicating the same one. In for a quick warm up and back on shore, gave Liam & Owen a hug...emotions running a little high but it was down to business.
Swim
I lined up at the front of our wave on the left side with Liam to my right and Owen on his inside i think. I decided I would try hold pace out to the first buoy and take it from there. Countdown begins, 1min, 30 secs, oh **** oh **** this is it, final gasp of breath before launching myself into the sea. The first 100mtrs is a bit manic with bodies everywhere, I am to the left and what I think is the shortest line to the first buoy. Liam starts opening a small gap after 250mtrs and veering slightly offline so I take my own line and jump on some feet to the first buoy.
I had set the garmin to beep every 500mtrs and to have something to look at splits after the race to see what the pacing was like. The first 500mtrs i passed in 8.14 (1:39 pace) which was a little hot but hey swim starts normally are. Slowed a little in the 2nd 500mtrs to get some deep breaths back into the lungs as we headed along to the 2nd buoy and I was using the tall buildings in the background for sighting off, 2nd 500mtrs rolled off in 10.11 (2:02 pace) which was considerably slower. Finally i started to find a relaxed stroke as we turned the 2nd buoy and heading to shore for the completion of the 1st lap, again a 9.27 (1:53 pace) to finish off the first half of the swim in 27:52. Considering I had intended to ease into the first 1500mtrs and lift the effort slightly on the 2nd lap I thought I was looking good to hit my target of a 55min swim. Out of the water and a quick run around before jumping back in. Next 500mtrs in 8.36 (1:43 pace) as I started to lift the effort. As soon as I turn the first buoy with 1k to go I start hitting the slow breaststrokers from the 2nd wave. This really disrupted my rhythm as I was constantly having to change my line as I swam up to slow packs, whilst doing this I got a kick in the face and some blood from my nose for my troubles.
Took a slightly wider line to the 2nd buoy to avoid the traffic but I knew I was starting to slow as a result of those. 500mtrs(2.5k) hit in a slow 9.53 and a slower 10.03 to finish out of the water in a 56.23 for 3105mtrs on the watch.
Not the sub 55 min swim I wanted but probably lost about 90secs/2mins in the last 1k to traffic. I suppose equating that to an IM swim it would be around a 1:10 effort so I will take that. Coming out of the water and I felt good as I knew I would be out on the bike close to the hr mark. A good start to the day, or so i thought!!
56.23, 3105mtrs, 1.49 pace per 100.
Transition 1
Slow enough as I struggled to get the TYR suit off and socks, race number, lid and sunglasses on. I think I was about 5 or 6 mins and whilst the run out of transition was long I probably left 2mins in there. As expected Liam & Owens bikes were gone but for once I was not back-end of my swim wave as plenty of other bikes about.
Bike
This was the part I was looking forward to, the one area where I knew I had made some big improvements over the winter and had felt very strong from coming off the back-end of the training camp in Lanza. Straight down into the aero position and got to work. 5mins in and the legs felt dead, 20mins in...ok Fran relax it will come good eventually.
I ended up ignoring power somewhat for the 1st hour as I was getting frustrated that the power was not flowing as i would like. First hr of the bike rolled by at 181w which was some way off what I k now I can bike and have done in training. We were faced with a strong enough headwind as we headed out to do 3 laps of the Yaz Marina F1 circuit. I could tell something was up as i was really struggling to get power up over 200w, not aerobically but physically my legs felt drained. As we hit the F1 circuit i sat up on the first lap to take it in before getting back down into the aero position. Nutrition and hydration had being going in without issue but still the legs felt dead. 2nd and 3rd hour rolled by at a miserable 172w and lifted a little to 184w for the 3rd hour. I was really starting to get worried and concerned about what was happening out there as my legs felt completely flat and empty. Speaking of flat & empty I rolled over a steel cover on the road and felt the back wheel deflate, **** it did not hold. Off the bike and re inflated and hope it would hold, it didn't as it went down again later. I only lost a few minutes but that was the least of my problems as the legs were more of a concern.
Into the 4th and 5th hour of the bike and I was feeling drained with the legs feeling worse, power had dropped even more 160w down to a horrible 120w for the 5th hour. Liam whizzed by me on my 2nd loop as he was doing his last. Liam is a savage cyclist (fastest AG bike split for the day) but there is no way Liam should be nearly 1.5hr ahead of me on a 200k ride, he would tell you the same after the trianing week we had in Lanza.
At this stage I had visions of not even being able to complete the 200k and wanted to get off my bike and throw it off the side of the motorway. I know last year the bike was short at about 185k but knew this year around it would be close to 200k. I continued to take on board food and gels but just had absolutely nothing in the legs, any slight drag had me out of the saddle. The course had me bored to tears with just endless motorway and nothing else to see. I was dying on my feet for the last 1.5hr which came in at a shocking 111w as I ended up having to freewheel some of the downhill sections.
I finally crawled into transition about an hour later than originally planned and 70w off race plan which is terrible. The power file is truly shocking and tells you exactly how bad the bike was for me http://www.trainingpeaks.com/av/KEFXXBNGFDY5ZJ2ZKCU3Q3KODE
Tired and dejected I walked into transition, bounced my bike of the rack cursing it and trundled into transition.
6:27, 199.4kms, AP 152watts / NP 166watts, 30.8kmph, 79rpm, ahr132
Transition 2
I was done, had nothing left to give and felt weak at the knees in the transition tent. I lay down feeling absolutely rotten without an ounce of energy left. I knew there was to be no run today and a DNF. I rang Michelle, I rang coach but could not really talk as was too emotional and exhausted to express how i was feeling and what was going on.
After about 25mins of lying down and trying to rationalise what just happened to me out on the bike I started to pack up my bike and run bag and proceeded to hand my race chip back to two medical staff positioned at the entrance to transition. Just as I did I seen someone come in with a medal around their neck with a sense of pride showing on their face. No, cannot do it. How can I look Ryan (or Michelle & rest of the kids) in the face and explain sorry son no medal today Dad had a bad day at the office and could not go on, not my day.
Chip back on and emptied run gear back out again and got ready even when i did not want to. I knew the run was going to hurt as my legs had seized up at this stage. Another quick call to Michelle, she was not happy I was doing the run as had concerns of a repeat visit to the medical tent like Roth, I promised her I would stop if it got to that stage.
37 mins in T2 I think
Run
Out i set on the run course moving at whatever pace the legs would allow, each step felt so painful and i had a number of hot/sore spots underfoot. Just kept the head down and looked at the ground ahead hating every minute of it but just keeping focussed on getting to the end.
As I completed one loop all I wanted to do was go back into transition and have a sleep. Even though I was running terribly slow I was still passing plenty although my race was long over in my own mind at this stage. Kept going and I think I only stopped once for a walk break. Legs were really hurting, aerobically I felt fine just did not have anything to push any sort of pace out. As I headed back towards the finish area, there was nothing, no feeling of elation absolutely nothing.
I crossed the finish line, got the medal for Ryan and just got out of there as quick as I could. I am well past the stage of just getting around a course and saying I finished, absolutely no sense of achievement whatsoever. The finish photo says it all really http://www.marathon-photos.com/scripts/photo.py?event=Sports/CPUK/2013/Abu%20Dhabi%20International%20Triathlon&photo=UAEE0053&bib=554
1.45, 20kms
Aftermath
I quickly got back to the hotel as we needed to pack up and be out of the room by 6pm. Liam had to help me break my bike down as I was feeling really light-headed and felt very weak. Headed back down to the awards ceremony to see Liam and Matt deservedly pick up there AG awards and Owen also had a fantastic performance finishing 2nd in his AG. I think overall they finished 6th,7th and 8th, great to see.
Long flight back home and the original plan was to have a few drinks and watch a few movies. I was that thrashed I ended up sleeping for about 5.5hrs of it.
I have had my fair share of disappointments in races since taking up sport but this is the straw that broke the camels back. I need a break physically and mentally, when you start to lose enjoyment for your hobby you need to have a rethink. Michelle would be the first to say I have been awful to be around since i got back and that's not what sport or enjoying your hobby is about.
I put a huge amount of effort in along with pressure on myself to do well both personally & publicly and when it does not go right the failure is magnified. I had a target in mind of a top 10 even a top 5 in my AG over in Abu Dhabi and it was a realistic target however I was so far off that for whatever reason i just don't know. I still don't know what went wrong or how I was so weak on the bike. I have always believed that if you put the hard work you get what you deserve, well it would not seem that way. Everything is still very raw and i am angry, very angry and very disappointed. I have taken the few days to reflect and have decided to take some time out, cancel IM Frankfurt and get some enjoyment back into my racing and training.
Kona is still the long-term goal but how I get there will change. I know I cannot keep going the way I am going so something has to change. People say you learn from your lowest points in sport and i hope this to be true unfortunately right now i can't see the wood from the trees as everything is still a blur. There is only so many dissapointments one can take out of what is meant to be an enjoyable hobby.0 -
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