What Watts? Port 63.7

It's official. Summer is here. And that's not just the sunburn talking... First race of the season under the belt in Port Macquarie definitely marks the beginning of Summer.

 

Port Macquarie in all it's morning beauty

It has been an up and down kind of winter, and a damn cold one at times... My running has come a long way which has been a good positive. Which reminds me, I never followed up on my last blog with an ambitious goal of 56min for the City-2-Surf... Well I'm happy to say that something clicked that day and I pulled out a 55:16... Winning!

That final painful km of the C2S

So really from a results perspective it was a great winter, perhaps the only up and down bit was inconsistent training and some mindless personal issues that are seemingly irrelevant. I can live with that.

So roll on the first race of the season. One of the most honest courses on the calendar but also one of the most scenic, Port Macquarie 70.3. It's a great tough course in a great little bogan town, and I say that with endearment.

This race has gone from a goal race, to a B race, to a don't care race, back to a training race and then to a what the hell have a crack race and back to a training race (see above personal ups and downs over the winter! haha) so when I checked the bike in on Saturday I really had no expectations at all and stomach full of nerves... go figure? At least I had my #1 fan up there with me this year to take me out to a pretty cracking lunch on the Saturday and put up with a 5:30pm dinner :)

Aimee's stellar lunch from Grape & Petal

This year was a strange start, we were herded into the carpark at the swim entry before the race start (missed out on a warmup swim!) and held until our wave was ready to start, then funneled into the water and out to the start bouys where we floated around and joked about waiting for instruction and then a horn went off! I guess that was the start then? Good thing we all knew what was going on... A 30 second warning would have been nice, but I guess not!

So the usual 25-29 age group start was amplified as we grew this year to include 18-29 which ensured that we started like there was a shark in the water (maybe that's what the horn was?). Pretty sure that I didn't punch anyone in the head this year which is nice, considering that I didn't get punched in the head either, maybe we are getting soft?

Swim start, no punches thrown...?

Spot's voice was ringing in my head as usual and this year I did listen (a little) and backed off a bit. The pack did it's usual swim the wrong way trick so by the time they had figured it out, corrected and half of them blown up already I was pretty much swimming next to them all again. I didn't jump on the back as they were still all over the place so I just swam my own way again. Turns out it wasn't a bad idea as I had a pretty good swim for me, well that or they all got lost out there somewhere... 27:14 and 11th in my division... I'll take that (and damn right it was short! haha). Even saved a spectators sunnies as I ran up the carpet to T1 (at the cost of my Huub goggles which I dropped...! :( )

Doing my duty, note the flying sunnies top left ;)

Heading out on to the bike I figured I had a pretty good swim, although I don't wear my watch in the swim so had no idea really, but I felt good and that's all that matters. I did wonder though if I had put in enough work on the bike lately to get through the next 90km on the bike at the speed my head wanted me to ride... Only one way to find out, hit the road and keep an eye on the power.
I said keep an eye on the power.
Shit.
Power meter not working... at all... Reset watch... Nope... No HR either...
Watts? What watts?
This is gonna be fun

Transition

I'd love to know what I was actually riding at out there, although it was great to ride blind to some degree as it definitely helps you to understand your body rather than rely on numbers, I think I may have pushed a little too hard considering the lead up I have had... haha. Not sure exactly when I figured that bit out, perhaps when somebody tried to slow me down by sticking 2 dozen knives in my quads the second time up Mathew Flinders... Fun

Heading out for Lap 2

The bike course was the same as I remember, just with less people. Maybe the early start wave? maybe the better swim from me? Or just less people in the field? All 3 I think.
Whatever it was, for the most part I didn't have anyone infront or behind. Was a pretty lonely 90kms, aside from the adoring fans up Mathew Flinders and my #1 fan clapping solo for me as I rode through the outskirts of town. I kinda like it that way.
Just wish I knew why the course was so slow this year...? I'm sure that we must have ridden over carpet at some point. 10mins slower than last year... anyway, that's starting to sound like an excuse, so I'll stop.

Coming back in to T2 feeling a sting in the legs

Coming in to T2 I felt every minute on my black pocket rocket. The quads were shot to pieces. Woo Hoo! So load up the crotch with some chamois cream, throw the Mizuno's on and hit the pavement. At least my watch decided to display my pace on the run, still no HR, but it was an improvement.

Feeling good at the 7km mark

Like I said, I felt pretty average, so forgot about the pace and just focused on form. I settled down eventually and the legs started to come around. Not where I would have liked them, but I was looking down the road at a 1:35 and thought I'd settle for that. This is a training race anyway. Right? I'm confused.
I carried on through the first lap holding that together somewhat, slowing a little up the hill in the back end which is normal. Although my body forgot to speed back up again. I got stuck in that gear. Either that or someone poured concrete in my legs while I was distracted. It took every ounce of mental strength not to stop when the nice lady gave me my 1st lap completed wrist band... The energy I had left after that went towards the walk/jog second lap. Hrmmm... Never quite had an explosion like this one. I had nothing. Slipped back to a 1:49. Ouch. Should have made this one a 63.7 rather than a 70.3...

Pretty glad that is over...

Nice to know that I found my limit. Now as I try and pick up the pieces and put the puzzle together I just hope that I can learn from this so that it doesn't happen again. I know that it might take a while (like forever) to get the balance right, but it was not a nice way to finish what started as a reasonable day in the water (no, I'm not a swimmer, stop smiling) so I need to take some lessons away

Now I have 2 weeks to remember how to walk before ripping what's left of my body to pieces in Noosa! Hell, at least there is a holiday and one hell of a party attached to that race. See you up there!

*note: I have learnt a lesson from this that is unrelated to my racing, although it's a lesson none the less... If someone has a bad race, you don't have to try and tell them it was a good race, they know they had a bad race, they are not looking for someone to pump them up and make them feel like they are a winner, not everyone wins a prize, it's OK to have had a bad race. I had a bad end to a race, that's OK, I know that, I'm not looking for sympathy, it's just a race, shit happens.
NB: I am absolutely totally 100% guilty of being 'that person' who tries to pump others up after a bad race... guilty as charged! I'll save you the long list of apologies that are due, but those people know who they are, and to them; "I'm sorry, you had a shit race hey" :)

It's all about the bike

That's pretty much the mantra that I went into the race at the Gong with.

I had set a few goals earlier in the season and the bike leg at the Gong was one of them. It's such a smooth fast course* that when I first raced it last year I knew it was just begging to be ridden hard. So I had set myself a goal to ride sub 60mins this year.

Coach Spot did manage to snag a pic. I do love that Johnson Bikes frame....

One thing you learn as a triathlete is that triathlon is one sport. Not three. You can't approach the race with any other mindset or you will be in for a shock. Saying that, and knowing that, I decided that this race I was going to lay it all out on the bike. The swim was merely a warm-up and the run, well, I had made peace in my mind that it was going to suck...

Couldn't have said it better myself Clipper

Pre-race wasn't exactly what I had in mind... Driving down late Saturday night with Ribbons in the passenger seat was just the start. Stoked that we were able to crash at a mates place down there (super appreciative of that!!) and even more stoked that it meant I got to cuddle on a pull out sofa that night (might have been just what I needed... haha). The morning was alright, so I thought, until we got in to registration and realised I had left my aero bottle in the fridge. Winning. So had to buy a bottle to fit and then try find somewhere to fill it up which was a mission... lucky the Giant boys had a cooler full of something liquid. That'll do. Snuck into transition seconds before it closed to set up. Great start... ha

The warmup 1500m swim was nice. The water was stunning and I really quite enjoyed it. I didn't swim backstroke in the end I actually tried to hold a reasonable pace. Something about that start buzzer that just makes you race no matter how hard you try not to! The usual 200m fist fight was no different than usual, maybe amplified thanks to the boats in the harbour funneling everyone into the fight. Spot will tell you that I should have got out the water with the pack that was a bit in front of me, and he's right, but I'll take a 24:25 as I had other things on my mind...

Now I'm going to dissect my race data from here on, so if that kind of thing tickles your fancy then keep reading (sorry Spot, no HR data) if not then here's an escape: EXIT

TP Race data:
 - Bike: http://tpks.ws/pud3
 - Run (jog): http://tpks.ws/xP5E

So not really knowing or caring so much where I was in the field, I set about my mission of a sub 60 bike split. I took the first trip up the hill steady getting some fluid in and getting my head right, then once I hit the short descent into the flat I put my head down and just pushed numbers and tried to judge how I felt. I know my FTP from the months spent at Turbo Studio which meant I knew what I should be able to hold over a 60min TT. That was what I chased.

The first half of the first lap I was feeling sensational. I was flying past the age groups who went out before us and just before I hit the turn around I spotted the first of my wave. I made sure I went past at pace to try stop them from latching on.
At the turn, split of 10:14 with Normalised Power of 276W. Nice on track so far.

First lap out to the turn.

First lap out to the turn. Happy with the time and the power here

At this point I inherited a TO on a bike that would sit just behind me or in front of me for the rest of the lap, he was very vocal and don't think he enjoyed me utilising all of my 15 seconds on a number of passes. A bit further down the road I came across the main pack. They weren't really pushing that hard so again I put my foot into it and tried to get past swiftly in the hope they would let me go and knowing that there was a TO on my tail I hoped that I might actually get away with it. Nope. In fairness they must have kept the distance as there was a TO with us for almost the entire bike leg, but as I hit the hill heading back into town they filed past me (same gene that causes punch ups at the swim start causes "must go up hill first" syndrome). You can see in the data below from the turn on the first lap as I started to catch the guys I knew were in my wave I put the foot down a bit.
My peak power over 10 minutes (286W) and 12 minutes (284W) was spent in this lap trying (unsuccessfully) to put some distance between us. Second split of 9:25 with NP of 288W. Lovely.

Lap 1 back to transition

Lap 1 back to transition. Pushing a little harder here while passing but also taking advantage of being able to get out of the wind while I do.

Peak 10min and 12min power as I put the foot down to pass the group.

The complete first lap I was pretty happy with. A time of 19:43 was right on the money and I felt like it was a pace that I could hold for the full hour. The Normailsed Power of 282W was almost whack on what I wanted, so I am happy with this first lap of data.

The complete first lap data

The next lap I tried to play a bit smarter on the leg out to the turn. I paced off the pack and we worked together for the lap out to put the pace on, also gave me a chance to get some fluid and a Shotz caffeine gel in while I could keep tabs on everyone. Our mate on his motorbike stayed with us most of the time and spent plenty of time counting us and yelling at us but we didn't break any rules so he eventually let us go. Although just before the turn there were a few who started to feel the pace and slow up a bit, which gave me a chance to have a bit of a crack again.
Third split, 9:49 with NP of 284W. Still good

Lap 2 out to the turn, taking it a bit easier, and getting some fluid and gels in where you can see my cadence drop.

Lap 2 out to the turn, happy with the time here working with a few others

I spent most of this section back at the front trying to pull away without smashing my legs which had started to let me know they weren't to happy with how I was treating them. I thought I may have broken away, looking back there were only two guys I could spot that stayed with me, and I was a little upset when we hit the little climb back into town and they once again slipped around me. Maybe I need to ride more hills ;)
Fourth split, 9:41 with NP of 291W. Excellent. But those two pricks could have helped out a bit! haha

Lap 2 back to transition. Working hard at the front trying to open a gap, you can see my cadence and power maintained throughout for this effort.

Lap 2 back to transition, happy with this time, had to put in a bit more power this split

The complete second lap was again a pretty good time and I was happy with the numbers. The power was a little higher thanks to my effort on the leg back to town, starting to hurt a bit so focused on mentally getting on with it!

The complete second lap data

I chased pretty hard to stay with the two guys on the next lap. The wind had come up a little and I could definitely feel it in the legs. They were ready to give it away. Not to mention my head was telling me that there was that 10km run that I had to do soon. Luckily I overpowered that thought. Don't need that right now. I just hammered away at the numbers and don't really remember much else about the lap, besides cursing the wind every few minutes. Although what pleases me most is the data from this last full lap.

Fifth split, 10:16 with NP of 286W. Now this is slower, and right now you are probably thinking I blew up, as I am certain Spot is. And at first I was the same. Although looking closer at the data you can see that my Normalised Power on this split is actually higher than the first (276W) and third (284W) split, which would suggest otherwise! My average cadence actually lifted each segment also from 84rpm to 86rpm and on the fifth segment 92rpm. Also you can see my peak 1min (386W), 2min (313W) and 5min (296W) power at the start of this lap as I pushed to not get dropped by the two remaining guys riding with me. Interesting. I think this is a pretty good example of a wind effected segment. So. Tailwind on the way back then? Nope.

Lap 3 out to the turn. Had to put in a bit to stay with the 2 others

You can see my 1min, 2min and 5min peak power here as I chased the 2 others down

Lap 3 out to the turn, a little slower, but as I explain above the wind played a role

Sixth split, 9:51 with NP of 289W. Again slower than the second (9:25 @ 288W) and the fourth (9:41 @ 291W) although very very similar power over the three segments further suggests to me that the wind played a bit of a role on that third lap and even on the back half of the second. The other explanation is that on that first lap before hitting the climb into town I was starting to pass all the guys from my age group, which means that for a few km's I was able to cycle up behind each rider until I had to pull out to overtake which allowed me to keep out of the wind for a good portion of that lap as I made my way through the field. Interesting

Lap 3 back to transition. trying to hold what I could!

Lap 3 back to transition. Happy considering how that felt!

So the third lap overall was a little slower, although the NP of 287W shows that I was still putting in the work. So ultimately I am pretty happy still. Also this lap contained my peak 20min (279W) and peak 30min (278W) power figures.
This is what you want to see in your data. The exact same theory as racing on heart rate, you want to race steady and solid and if anything pick up in the back of the race

The complete third lap data

Great place for the peak 20min and 30min power. Shows that I pushed home hard with all I had left

Overall I'm pretty happy with my bike split and even happier that the data I have actually shows that I raced almost as good as I was able (always room for improvement) on the day.

Summary of the laps. From transition to turn and then back

Overall data

Overall averages and maximums

Oh. I almost forgot that 10km run. Well I'll say one thing. It was nice to know that I can still run at a pace like that when I could hardly throw my leg over the saddle coming into T2. Thought I was going to die. 43:56 will do just lovely. Although I would like to find out who hit me in the stomach with a nine iron in that last km. Had my hand pushed so hard into my guts that last bit trying to unsuccessfully dull the pain of an epic stitch!

Pic thanks to Spot

The lovely 10km jog on shattered legs

*Alright. This next bit is for all those people saying "Triathlon 40km, it would have been short, not that impressive".

Yep. Fair call. You know what? It probably was short. In fact my Garmin had it at 39.02km. Not hiding anything there. BUT. If you stay with me for a minute lets do some simple maths.

By the watch: 39.02km (lets call it 39km) in 59min and 24sec, gives about 1min 31sec per km. Lets multiply that by a full 40km. We get 1:00:55. I'd be freaking stoked with that. Now would I have held that same speed for another km? I'd like to think so, especially considering the first few hundred metres are spent mounting the bike and getting my feet in the shoes which would have bought the speed down a nominal amount. So I think I would have held that speed just fine.

Don't like the Garmin time? Lets use the official time that was from the mat around the corner after the dismount line of 59min 56sec. The same maths gives us an adjusted 40km time of 1:01:28. Yep still pretty happy with that.

So take which ever of these figures that helps you sleep better at night. I rode the course that was put in front of me and I rode it as hard as I could. Unless you were out there with me I'm not horribly interested in a discussion about it being a short course.

Peace!

Noosa meltdown

Thank you Noosa!

Wow, you can take me back anytime you want.

After a week I'd rather forget, the flight to Noosa opened a different world far away from the troubles in Sydney, a world that I could have quite comfortably stayed in...

We arrived in Sunny (but not actually that warm) Brisbane Thursday morning, threw the bags in the back of the hire car and went off in search of food. The decision to fly to Brisbane was a good one as there was only one other bike on the flight so we had no issues (unlike some unlucky people who flew into the Sunny Coast...). Arriving in Noosa is always a wonderful feeling and that afternoon was no different, we pulled into our lush apartment in Little Cove and instantly knew that we had made a good decision!
Keeping low key the first night Aimee and I snuck off to a nice restaurant for dinner to try enjoy part of the weekend not related to triathlons :)

Our apartment for the week! Freaking awesome!

Friday morning was a beauty. So Reidy, Donkey and I headed out for a morning lap of the course. A 5:30am departure ensured that the sun was completely up before our ride started (QLD, seriously, daylight savings!).
The course was familiar as some of us were lucky enough to spend a week in Noosa only a few months ago on the Turbo Studio Noosa Camp (which was amazing!) so getting to reacquaint myself with Garmin hill was nice, besides a few over zealous locals in their cars almost killing us it was a nice morning ride and a great way to start the day! A quick coffee with some of the crew on the main street and it was back to the pad.

In Noosa you have such amazing places to train on your doorstep and it would be just rude to not take advantage of them. So Aimz and I got our gear on and went for a great run through the Noosa Heads National Park, I love that place so much I could move there just for that!

Enjoying our run through the beautiful National Park

Capping the day off watching the Eyeline Noosa 1000 Ocean Swim and getting seeing coach get a 3rd place (and bust a lung trying) and the rest of the crew all having a great race as well was great. Sid and I snuck off for a quick swim out around the point and back to stretch the arms mid-race as neither of us fancied the actual race.
Dinner at the surf club (for something different) with the crew and a few sneaky beers was a great way to finish off a great day!

It's all about the photo! Coach starting the Eyeline 1000

Bondi Fit dinner (and beers) Friday night

My old training buddy and partner in crime Tommy got into town on Friday night and it would have been rude to break our tradition of riding the course together the day before the race, so I joined him and Sid and headed off early again (and in full sunshine...) to ride the course. It was quite possibly the highlight of the trip getting back on the bike and riding with these two legends. Always such a pleasure.

Having a ride with these two legends: Tommy and Sid

Tommy departed and Sid and I carried on to meet the Bondi Fit team who were just getting started on their morning of mini-tri's around the island. Seems the Bondi Fit bus arrived the night before as the numbers had swelled dramatically overnight! So we joined in for a few swims and runs and had a good time before all heading off for a team breakfast (man I love breakfast!)

Mini-tri's Saturday morning

One of Sid's sponsors Shotz Nutrition was holding their SSNLRSNWBB Championships (long story) so we wandered down to see the crew and have a laugh while they attempted to body surf the swimming pool that was Noosa main beach... Was good to meet some of the team and also to meet Darryl from Shotz and put a face to a name finally.

The Shotz team debating the rules pre-SSNLRSNWBB Championships

After an afternoon of chilling out on the couch I headed down to rack the bike and hang around for the swim round the island with the team, felt good through the swim and was feeling very relaxed, which was a big change from a few days ago back in Sydney....
I also managed to rack my bike right next to Tommy which was a bit of a laugh :)

The amount of bikes in transition was unreal!

Just like old times. Parking up next to Tommy in transition

The SUBARU Australian Open Mens Criterium was on just after and local bike shop name and friend Ben Johnson was racing so we jostled for a spot to watch the action. Being the first Crit that I had watched it was an exciting race with Robbie McEwen coming through for the photo finish!
A quiet meal tonight and an early night to bed was in order before the big day tomorrow...

Mens Crit race, great to watch!

Sunday morning. Race morning.

Love & Hate relationship. But mainly Love.
Aimee got up (bless her) and helped stick the race numbers on and off I went to setup transition. My wave start wasn't until 8:45 (!!!) but I had to be done in transition by 6am like the rest of the field. Tommy and I were lucky that we found some empty racks on our row so we could move our bikes (shhhh) and space out a bit to make it easier in transition.
At first a start time of 8:45 had me doing back flips, although I soon realised that it would mean I could watch Sid in her first race as a Pro. So it all of a sudden became a great thing I had a late start!

Sid's first Pro start!

Out of the water and starting her hunt on the bike

Most of the team were down at the swim start for the pro race, and we made sure that we gave Sid her tunnel into the water before her first pro race, much to the surprise of all the other pros and people who wandered what all the noise was about :)
It seemed her first race wasn't going to be without drama with a snake in the water scaring the life out of Moffy just before the buzzer went on the start line! We hung around and waited at the swim exit to make sure we gave her a good cheer before she got on the bike and started her hunt. And hunt she did! Tommy and I quickly ducked off to grab some breakie and got back in time to see Sid come back into T2 having ridden through half the field (into about 7th place) and with a smile on her face that you could see from miles away, super effort!
Starting the run we shouted support at her until she started shouting back something like "I thought it was only a swim and a bike?" when we stopped shouting support and started shouting abuse!

Aimz had wandered down by this stage and it was nice to see her before the race start. Proudly displaying her supporter sticker for the day :)

My biggest supporter! :)

We snuck away and started to prepare for our own race and headed to the swim start, ...like we wanted to race now having been watching people already finish.....! About to jump into the water for my own race I noticed Sid had just come through into the recovery area so I had the chance to go and give her a massive congratulations which gave me the boost I needed to get back into race mode.

My swim was alright. Although I instantly regretted the 2-piece tri suit choice to swim in. Muppet. The top became an instant float and I knew that was going to suck. Oh well. The buzzer went (no snake) and off we went. Pretty sure I threw my fair share of punches at the first can, but I received my fair share as well...
My wave (as usual) swam the most zig-zagged route through the swim, so I had to make the choice to chase feet or swim my own lines. I chose my own lines and pretty much swam solo the whole way again.

Out into T1 and Tommy's bike was still there (he started 3 mins behind) which was a good thing considering how I had been swimming lately. On to the bike (after pushing past countless people stopped on the mount line... Arrgghhh!!!) I heard the familiar voices of some of the team and of Aimee on the sidelines.
I wanted to push the bike pretty hard and set about trying to get into a rhythm. About 5km in Bacon moved past me and I paced off him for a little while before realising that I wasn't going to hold on for long and went back to my own race. Garmin hill came and went quite quickly and before I knew it I was at the turn around. Still no Tommy? or anyone else for that matter... The only person to pull past me had been Bacon which was a good feeling. The return trip down the hill I was lucky that the traffic cleared up lot and I was able to just put the head down and go, nudging 85km/h on the way down.
Back into town and the traffic got worse, I apologise to anyone I screamed at (especially on the bridge) but be stuffed if I was slowing down! Quick look at the watch and it was a 1:02 bike split which made me smile. Nice.
Into T2 I heard a familiar voice behind me. Tommy! Classic moment in T2 together getting our shoes on like rookies, we almost had a picnic... I gave him the news that Bacon was gone, but chase him anyway, turned him the right way around (you still owe me a beer) and off we went.

Data from the bike

Out the gates and the familiar voices were there again. Although this time it felt like my legs had been run over. There was nothing there. It was hot and it was not fun. The whole run I tried telling myself that I felt good and that I love running, but it didn't help, the legs just wouldn't turn over... I managed to hang on to what I could and run a 45min split which isn't what I had in mind. Although the last km was amazing and I would do it again and again no matter what the pain. The banners, the people, the grandstand. the big screen. Awesome. Coming down the chute and having the Bondi Fit alcoholic supporters along with Sid and Reidy hanging over giving the high fives was epic just before hitting the line. Loved it.
If you had asked me to sign up again right then I would have. What an awesome end to a race!

Party time!

Straight to the surf club (after a quick shower) and into the beers! We sank a handful of cold ones with the team there and inhaled a few bowls of food for good measure.

Although when the message came through to get to the Oakley house I didn't hesitate and we headed off for a great night with some great people and athletes. Will remember that one for a while!
Might have even given poor Ashleigh Gentle the freight of her life on the way to get pizza afterwards... Sorry Ash!

Recovery...

Monday started with a hangover and a craving for breakfast... Sid had mentioned the WITSUP girls were hosting a breakfast with a few of the top female athletes on a panel, so Tommy and I didn't think twice and tagged along for the fun. It was a great event with Liz Blatchford, Emma Snowsill, Emma Jackson and Charlotte McShane there to answer all sorts of great questions. It was one of the better panels I have listened to, led fearlessly by Snowy!

The rest of the day was dedicated to the fact that we had given up sugar for the last 6 months and this was the first cheat day we had! There was gelati, chocolate, chocolate, chocolate, gelati.... It was amazing.
But also not that satisfying... Weird?

Did someone say chocolate?

Aimee and I snuck away for a quiet dinner at Noosa's newest restaurant which was lovely (besides not being capable of bringing me a drink for the entire meal.... again, long story) It was nice to have another dinner and enjoy some non-triathlon time...
We caught up with Sid for some more gelati afterwards and a quick drink to celebrate the trip and her first pro race (very proud!)

Tuesday I decided that I wanted my favourite breakfast that I haven't been able to have for months (sugar....) Eggs Benedict! So Aimz and I went out to a local cafe and sat there patiently waiting for the awesomeness... low and behold, it was rubbish... So I have put it back on the list of things I miss and will search out a better one later...


So until then...