I met the race organiser Eoin back in March and for a number of reasons decided the Eireman would be my ‘A’ race this season. Some of my earlier blogs explain the rationale around limiting my race season to the UK this year, wanting to race some of the plethora of new events or races I haven’t had the opportunity to already do. The Eireman appealed in terms of the bike course, set to take place on a closed motorway (potentially fast), in a really nice part of Ireland (County Wexford), and it seemed fairly sraightforward to get to (car & ferry). I thought it’d be a good chance to make a bit of a holiday out of the 4 day weekend, and found a great hotel to make the most of a few days off….

The old adage ‘if something seems too good to be true then it probably is’ came back to bite me pretty much all weekend

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A few weeks ago I raced one of two of my main races for this season, at Bala middle distance triathlon in north Wales. I’d had it on my radar for a few seasons and had heard so many good things about the course, race and area around it. So this year, with a shift in focus to UK races and the credit crunch everyone seems to be talking about, I was all set for a weekend in Wales.

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Well it’s one week on from my short stint training in my favourite location, the French Alps!

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Well it’s not very often one of my wins makes the papers.

Buckinghamshire Free Press

Maidenhead Advertiser article

I enjoyed the Marlow Duathlon course immensely, it’s quite a unique event as you might read into the press coverage above. The 7k run/ 25k bike/ 7k run format ended up a nice little brick session!

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Well it’s taken a week for me to get over the 200+ mile round trip to scenic Whitby or Boggle Hole. Easy now to understand the lack of Planet-X female representation on this 2-day stage race. I must have missed the last bit!

However, very glad I wasn’t alone in finding some very high and low places, including cross-eyed/ pre-bonk / where the hell am I/ hallucinating places that I didn’t know existed despite some relevant Ironman/ Alp epic adventures and gran fondo experiences in my time. Super ultra-marathon runner Heidi and I held up the ladies end of the team as best we could….. And that was pretty darn well, all things considered! Especially those 20 & 25% climbs & descents we seemed to find repeatedly on Sunday morning as a warm up for the big daddy of them all – The Chimney Bank.

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Starting off with some baseline performance testing, with a trip to the Human Performance Unit at the University of Essex this week. Obviously all the hard winter training I have been doing has paid off – well I have been visualising it so there’s a lot to be said for utilising the brain muscle instead of all the usual muscle groups to propel oneself…. I’m pleased to report that less is definitely more. The test I performed today was a repeat protocol of the same bike test I did in March last year. It showed improvements across the board. Which is good news as I haven’t started training yet!

A selection of my coached athletes were also tested today received some great feedback to help inform their short-medium term training plans for the season. It was good to see the improvements Darren has made in power, pushing more watts for significantly longer, ready to take on the Pro 70.3 boys this season! Great for motivation and to reinforce the quality of all those turbo sessions through the winter. You’ve got to be a dedicated triathlete if you live in the UK compared with anywhere in the world (except maybe Chicago – Jen?). That is for sure!

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I’ve had a day of being knackered but thankfully not crackered, starting the year with a 10k fell race around the lovely Box Hill in Surrey which those in this part of the world may know as the Knacker Cracker. Since Busso I’ve had a few weeks off, with a week in Sydney catching up with my family before a belated honeymoon in Langkawi which was great. Rob and I then headed back to the UK for Christmas. Out MTB-ing on Christmas morning around Richmond Park, I spent some time reflecting on the successes and highlights of 2008. Here are a few thank-you’s I thought were in order….

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Sub 10 hour finish in my first go racing Pro at Ironman.

An ok swim, great bike and good run to finish in 8th, in 9:56:

I don’t know if this is true for everyone, but every Ironman race you seem to have a lot of thinking time to amuse yourself/ pass the time. So I found myself on the marathon thinking about the preparation I’d invested in this one (about half as much as previously) and realized it is actually possible to do a sub 10 hour IM on very modest training (average 12 hours, some weeks much less).

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Well quiet is an understatement, I’ve been missing in action on the racing front this year. But I guess it’s all relative, and compared with previous/ consecutive seasons where world championships have always been the focus it’s been a bit of time out for various reasons. But that’s life isn’t it?

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Official and unofficial PB’s. Small stepping stones along the way to another triathlon racing season, piecing together a solid build up. The start to 2008 has been varied to say the least, maintaining a familiar pre-season combination of time trials and duathlons in combination with variations in weather and location. From the ridiculous contrast of sub zero UK temperatures and snow with the desert heat of Tempe, Phoenix, Arizona I was able to put together a solid month in April, feeling for the first time since Hawaii last October that my fitness levels and strength are returning.

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Plenty!

Here’s the generalisation:
Triathletes, cyclists and endurance athletes tend to regard what they put in their bodies as fuel. After all, we’re exercising, staying mobile and active for between 2- 8 hours each day and burning through 3000+ calories purely in those sessions alone which can be easily double the recommended daily calorific value/ day for average joes….

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Yes they are
Here we are Jan 31st and I’ve been ok with mine so far. Keeping the coach – athlete communication lines open and updating my online training log for Spence regularly rather than once in a blue moon. He’s happy, so that’s good, and I’ve now decided it’s not such a big deal now it’s routine. We’ve also got Skype-ing so we can check in any time with him subject to the UK-USA time difference. You can pretty much make time for anything if you want to do it….. How’s yours going?

I’ve returned to my Base training a little later than usual (January) having taken a good few months off after Hawaii. A few reasons, physically and a reality check to refocus on work and put in over and above to make up for the sponsored leave I’ve been fortunate to have! It all catches up with you sooner or later in my job, if I don’t do the work no-one else is there to delegate it to…

Have caught up on some reading over the winter with those long evenings, although having developed a real liking for the DAve channel programmes, our telly isn’t ever found on anything else….
These two reads I can recommend if you need some motivation to start the season ahead:

The Flying Scotsman – Graeme Obree (had the pleasure of meeting him at last year’s 220Triathlon Awards). The film was great too.
Ultra Marathon Man Confessions of an all-night runner – Dean Karnazes

One bit of advice – I wouldn’t recommend reading them both at the same time, it’s likely to do YOUR head in!

Fiona

Rob and I were married at St Peter’s Church on Alii Drive, Tuesday 16th October.

It was a perfect setting for our big day. We chose Hawaii for a few reasons, obviously the triathlon element and also as it’s almost halfway for my family from Sydney, Australia and Rob’s travelling from Kent, UK.

Spencer and Melissa might have inspired us just a tad too!

Best wishes,
Fi and Rob

Overall, the race went well. The atmosphere at 5am was of calm and precise organisation, with hundreds of volunteers facilitating the body marking of 1800 athletes. I found the whole experience really cool and ended up in transition with plenty of time to give Stealthy the once-over, inflate tyres and load all my nutrition needs for the day.

After giving fiancé Rob the final thumbs-up, I joined the massive queue forming to get into the water. The Hawaiian blessing and concho shell was blown, and I was able to get into the water pretty quickly once the pros went off at 6.45am. I had a very brief loosen up in the water, not wanting to expend too much energy! The extreme left hand side of the swim start provided me with a great position once the cannon went off. I enjoyed being among the human washing machine out to the turnaround catamaran. Underwater it looks surreal! There was definitely a swell coming back in, and I took as many opportunities to find feet as I passed tiring swimmers towards the pier, where I spotted Rob waiting for me to exit the water.

Transition was hectic. Volunteers scrambled to assist and turned us around in as few minutes as possible. I easily found the Stealth right at row end, gleaming in the sun ready to go find those lava fields. Before I knew it, I was out of the screaming corridor of noise and colour and spinning along the clockwise lap of Kona out towards the highway.

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Kona is not really buzzing yet but that’s all about to change when everyone descends on the place next week! The acclimatisation is going well, since arriving late last Monday evening. 24 hours after leaving Heathrow I finally turned the key in the condo at the Kona Sea Ridge and boy, was I glad to finally get some sleep!

So this is what my week has looked like, and why it’s so good to be here:

Tuesday – woke early after 5 hours sleep, went out for an easy 30 minute run. Found the pier and checked out the swim course from the shoreline standing beside a giant turtle in the shallows! Unpacked and built bike, wheels are perfect and frame is fine. A few issues with seat post clamp (again) and headset (again), will need to get expert help! Fell asleep after catching up with Spencer and woke up around 7pm, think I lost an afternoon there somewhere? Shattered….

Wednesday – woke before 5am, and made my way down to the pier for an early swim. Amazing, I’ve always wanted to swim in an aquarium! Just over a mile out on the swim course, found I was level with where we’re staying and turned around into a strong swell. On the way back, trying to sight buoys and I have one of those ‘I don’t believe this!’ moments followed by about 5 sheer panic seconds… Three fins heading straight towards me! Underwater I make out they are dolphins, and my HR begins to decelerate from max to somewhere in the Zone 2 range. Adrenaline has a strange effect on your swim technique! Before I knew it, they had turned around and swan alongside me for what seemed like ages, I was fascinated by the fact they were keeping pace with me and only about 5 metres away! One of the support kayakers paddled closer to me to check whether I’d seen them, I was too busy breathing to my right side and watching them under the water to notice her efforts to intercept me. What a way to start the day!
Took the Stealth into the bike shop to get sorted out, and then headed out for an easy spin along the Queen K for an hour or two. I had my first taste of the heat and wind out there past the airport and the Stealth is completely at home among the black rocks of the lava fields! A short run off the bike and that’s me done for today.

Thursday – down to the pier again first thing and I spot Normann Stadler stripping off ready to swim. Cool! A few pics and then into my PZ3 suit from sponsors Blue Seventy for todays’ steady swim effort, with Spencer’s words ringing in my ears ‘use some feet today if you want’. Ok, no worries Spence. So I follow Norman’s cameraman, perilously perched on the back of a kayak, until he catches up with the group at the 3rd buoy where they do some filming. I swim on and realise the group is right behind me as I approach the 4th buoy where I’d planned to turn around and head back in. About halfway back I suddenly become aware of a similarly clad PZ3 on my left hip and another on my right, and underwater I recognise Normann’s swim cap and goggles. So I up the pace and decide to see how long I can stay with them as it’s not far to the next buoy, finding those feet Spencer was talking about! It’s a pretty cool feeling to be sitting on Normann’s afterburner feet, even if they were only cruising! I reached the pier and kept out of the way of the cameraman capturing some last material. As I came out of the water, I thanked Normann for the tow back in and asked for a photograph, and he obliged. Happy days!
Off for a run now before lunch, and then this afternoon I’ll drive the bike course.

Friday – Pool swim and followed by an easy spin, getting used to the intense heat now in the early afternoons. Rob gets in later this evening.

Saturday – Key session today along the Queen K, felt great heading out with a strong tailwind spurring the Stealth onto average over 40kph cruising. Rob kindly pointed out the effect of the wind on the vegetation on the side of the road, and he was soooo right! Coming back was a completely different story into a gusting head and crosswinds. Using the Ergo was useful in keeping my effort in check as I’d already supposedly done my intervals for the day. A short run off the bike gave me some time to digest what I’d learned out there today – in the rain!

One week to go – and counting the days!

Fiona

I’m putting the finishing touches to a very nice block of September training to prepare me for Kona, culminating in almost 30 hours last week. The majority of this has been on the bike, with almost 20 hours boosted by two 5-6 hour+ rides, so I currently have a solid pair of bike legs, which I hope will start feeling like their human form again soon. The rest of last week was made up of around 8 hours of run training on the roads and trails, with the key long run on Sunday I really enjoyed over approximately 22 miles. Being at 1100m it was tough for stages and it helped having training buddy Lauren along for the first hour! I managed only a few pool sessions last week, mainly as recovery sessions.

I know when I’ve been putting in the training hours when I can’t keep up with logging my sessions online in my fitness journal. Spencer resorts to being on the ‘wave length’ for a few days, before the next rest day comes along and I get all the downloaded data sorted. The Ergo racer software tracks all the sessions on the bike and is starting to show my ability to hold higher intensities developing. There is so much functionality in the software that I’m continually learning the more I use it. Like the power profile!

Occasionally I lapse into thinking that IM France was a long time ago back in June. Both Spencer and fiance Rob are both quick to remind me that the preparation for my first IM and those early season miles are still in the bank, which takes the edge off my occasional over-training tendencies. It’s easy to think you need that elusive ‘one last session’ before really hitting the taper, and I can’t really get away with that these days – Rob notices everything! For once I’m more than happy to be in great shape and managing to be injury and illness free. A greater risk with long course training especially having upped the ante somewhat in volume the last month. It’s a fine line….

I travelled back to the UK yesterday to spend the rest of the week catching up with work and getting packed ready to fly out to Hawaii next Monday. I’m beginning to taper my training, so will have a little more time to get organised. The ‘lucky’ Xentis wheels have arrived at home, so named after 2 of us on the Planet-X team having won on them. I’m looking forward to reuniting them with their frame partner for Hawaii, the Pro Carbon Stealth. Apparently they aren’t speed limited by having the front wheel on the reverse way, however unlike my blonde moment before racking at IM France!

The bike is booked in to be serviced on Friday and then it’ll be packed and ready to go over the weekend. All my kit and nutrition is sorted for the race, and I’m looking forward to arriving and getting acclimatised next week. We’ve rented a condo about a mile from the pier, so will be handy enough for the race venue but slightly removed from all the energy-sapping excitement preceding the race.

Aloha for now,

Fiona

Last weeks’ training feels like it’s paving the way for a strong week this week. One of the benefits of training at even moderate altitude is improved recovery between sessions. On a day-to-day basis this is great if you’re looking to maximise a particularly hard training phase, and achieve some physiological overcompensation by the body, assuming you go into this training block in sufficiently good shape! I find my quality of sleep is better at altitude, and I feel strong in my training sessions down in the valley, in keeping with the idea of ’sleeping high and training low’. Today’s long ride incorporated some sustained intervals in identified power ranges (watts) which I held easily and the following run off the bike felt really strong. Happy to get the last few key sessions right before I start to taper for the big one!

Nutrition is something else that is affected when I train here; I pay particular attention to taking in sufficient protein, along with the usual balance of carbs. In the past when I’ve trained for 6 weeks at moderate altitude, I have experienced some loss of lean muscle mass and became a little on the lighter side of my racing weight. Helpful if you’re climbing hills for some, however the issue here is more about compromising my power-to-weight ratio. So it’s worth taking some time to plan and prepare ample protein intake throughout the day when I’m here.

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Since arriving here last Monday evening, I’ve made a good start to my peak training phase for Kona. The next few weeks are critical in preparing me for the Ironman World Championships and will take me through until I leave for the big island of Hawaii on the 1st October to acclimatise.

I have my teeth into my programme this week, with Spencer’s specific sessions to prepare me for the challenges ahead on the Queen K Highway. I’m spending most of my time in the saddle or running the range of trails and roads nearby. My one luxury after swimming at the local pool is relaxing in the sauna which is also good preparation for the humidity in Hawaii! Next month’s 220Triathlon are profiling a few of the UK contingent racing the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii, there’ll be a strong Planet-X presence in there…. Not that I’ve had much to do with it!

My little amount of rest time is spent working remotely and enjoying the view from my base at 1050 metres and trying to keep myself well-fuelled. This is sometimes a little difficult around daily training hours that have ramped up to between 6-8 hours! I’m well aware of the knock-on effects of not recovering well enough to train on consecutive days.

I’ve trained through my lead-up race to Hawaii last weekend, The Vitruvian half IM. As I hadn’t tapered or rested sufficiently going into the race, it was always going to be a good mental toughness conditioning day just to keep it all going. It was one of those races where you feel like you’re never really in gear or ‘dialled in’ as Spencer would say! The only dialling in I managed was digging in when a tired body just wants to slow down/ stop at any given opportunity and I look forward to coping with these kind of moments better in Hawaii for Saturdays’ experience….

My day job has come with me for this training trip, as I’m fortunate to have the support of my employers at Steljes Limited and enjoy the benefits of remote working. I dedicate my ‘down time’ and light training days to project work I’ve undertaken for November. I find it provides the balance of a mental challenge to complement the physical ones each day.

Until next week, happy training

Fiona

The HPU (Human Performance Unit) at Colchester University have been really helpful in assessing my performance levels pre and post -season in the past. Tom has helped me through the treadmill test a number of times and produced really infomative reports for me to use going forward in my training.

So this season I thought a bike test would be on the agenda to really drill down into my efficiency for long-course racing and find out how to extract more output in my training over the next few weeks of my peak phase leading into Kona.

As I was racing the Vitruvian the following day (and hadn’t planned to taper that week), the agreed protocol was a sub maximal test stepping up in 4 minute intervals. I used the lab bike and set it up as closely as possible to my Stealth measurements, and after being fitted with the mask (that’s the worst bit if you’re not used to it!) the test began.

Half an hour later and it was all over and had been performed well. I’d remained focused on my cadence each time the resistance increased, and kept it in the range of 90-100rpm. My right ear was a little sore from the blood samples being extracted every interval of minutes. The day it was really obvious that I bruise easily, sporting a black and blue ear lobe!

I’ve got the test results and report back from Tom Cudmore (a fellow triathlete who heads up the HPU at Essex Uni) this week and it will form another important part of my preparation for Kona in the coming weeks. Determining duration and length of intensity in wattage and HR zones, which I can factor into the training schedule.

Until next time,
Fiona

We spent the first weekend of September taking on the triple-X challenge making up the series of events of the Big Woody weekend, in the forest of Dean. A great alternative for me to being in Hamburg, although judging by the number of texts I had from friends out there racing, it was clear that fellow club/ team mates were worried I’d make a last minute appearance to defend my WC titles from Lausanne 06. The best suggestion I received was someone borrowing a Planet-X Stealth from a GB team mate to rack in my position in transition, now that would have gone down well!!!

Kona beckons and a weekend of racing, some quality long training and having a chance to run a few ideas by Spencer made for a fun few days! We arrived Friday evening in Coleford at the race HQ just about in time for the (well short) 5k run. Having set a new PB of around 16 minutes felt good as trying to keep up with Spencer did not feel so good… result – Spencer 1st – daylight second – me – then the rest of the field!

Saturday morning saw the Big Woody (IM) competitors take to the water around 6.30am followed by the Little Woody competitors (half IM) half an hour later. Spencer gave them a head start of 15-20mins, and the Baby Woody (sprint) distance began last. I’d opted for the short course, as I’d entered the Vitruvian middle distance the week after. In hindsight I probably should have raced the Little Woody instead, as there aren’t many opportunities to be in the same starting line-up as your coach and it would have been a great, tough course to do!

I had a strong swim, getting in on the feet of the leading two fellows and exiting with them in 3rd. My transition went well, in contrast to fiancé Rob who might’ve still been there looking for his bag when I came out if he hadn’t discovered his correct race number tattooed to his arm and leg! Those ever-patient marshals thought he’d lost the plot in the cold water or something I reckon…

Once onto the bike, I felt great and quickly caught up to and passed the two leaders. One of them decided it wasn’t a great idea for a female to be leading the male dominated sprint field, and we had a great cat-and-mouse ride along to race HQ. There was no way I was conceding the lead with Planet-X sponsoring the bike course!

The small crowd gathered around transition were slightly bewildered to see us charging into T2 I think. No-one really seemed to be around, or know where we should be going. I ended up hurtling my bike over the fence as I’d completely missed the timing mat in my haste! I headed out onto the run course first, as I seemed to be the only one who knew where it began, having done it last night.

I enjoyed the short 5k run and navigated the eventual winner to the turnaround point as he caught me up and paced with me. The absence of marshals meant he hadn’t a clue where to go! The finish was low-key and fun, a reminder of why we do the sport no matter what scale the event. I then took the bike out for an extended recovery spin down to the lake and race start to suss out the action on the course, or rather to see how far ahead Spencer now was! Sure enough on one of the narrowest lanes of the course, Spencer caned past me in the opposite direction, with a grin from ear to ear. The ‘Pink Beauty’ was being ridden like he’d stole it….

Rob’s antics out on the bike course never fail to surprise – not just me any more. Probably more impressive was the size of his right leg after riding some of the hilly bike course as a single-leg experiment and being able to run like a duck for the duration of a half marathon.

Spencer again took a great, if easy win. He gave a great post race interview with Paul Groves, race commentator.

On Sunday morning for me it was a return to reality and a nice steady 18mile run while the boys took on the local duathletes. This was the final event of the triple-X challenge, and Spencer again finished ahead of daylight for second.

The most interesting part of the weekend was the return trip to London, the Renault estate loaded up to the hilt with the 3 bikes, luggage for 4, Mr and Mrs Smith and ourselves. Sunday eve saw us chill out once back at home and we had a great evening, good meal, Kona talk and plans for the road ahead to the IM World Championships in October.

Stay cool
Fiona