And the winner is:

Ironman Auckland 70.3.

Today I officially entered Ironman Auckland 70.3. At the end of the day, having a race like this, based in the viaduct and on that course was too good for me to pass up.

I've modified my training program to take me through to the 20th of January. And as for Taupo, well in all honesty that's highly unlikely to happen. The provisional plan will be to run the people's tri event at mission bay that weekend instead. And possibly the round Taupo cycle in build up, if finances allow.

So for now, its back into training, after a July which has been a bit disappointing in terms of what I have achieved. 6 months till kick off.

A Change in Direction?

Since early 2011 my goal race has been the Taupo Half Ironman. Obviously I missed my first opportunity last year, through my calf injury. But since re starting training this year I have been building nicely towards the 2012 event. And now there is a new fly in the ointment, in the form of a new race, an Ironman 70.3 race in Auckland, in January, 6 weeks after the Taupo event.

This new race is based in the Viaduct Harbor in Auckland, an area where I have spent a lot of time, where I worked for 5 years, almost a 2nd home. The race also goes over the Auckland harbor bridge. Which, at least from my point of view is quite a novelty factor. And I would have the chance to compete in an inaugural event.

So the question is what to do? Do I ignore the new event and continue with my plans to race Taupo? Or should I try to do both? Or do I do what may be the intelligent option, and move my focus to ironman Auckland, which would give me more time to get down closer to racing weight, and to increase my fitness...

I'm leaning towards doing Auckland over Taupo. The extra 6 weeks training could be invaluable, the novelty factor of the location, in the center of the city seem, at this stage, to be too much to pass up. Entries open in 5 days, so I've got a little more time to think things over. But the odds are that this time next week, I'll be locked in to racing my home town.

June Training Log

May, Training Log

Not a bad month really. Nice and consistent. I hit most of my goals for the month.

Positives:

Lots of biking
More consistent running
Started heart rate training on the run

Negatives:

Not enough pool time, either frequency or duration
Still had some trouble with my calf (you can see the no run period during the middle of the month)

Over all tho, I'm quite happy with where I am. Another month like this will give me a nice launching point for Half Ironman training.

Finally, some consistency

Earlier in the year I posted a to do list, and as a part of that said that my number one goal for the year was to build a base for future racing. I've also said, many times that I need to be more consistent with my training. Well We're now a third of the way through the year, and my first of 2 'A' races has come and gone so this seems a good time to look back and evaluate things. And looking back what I've found I think that I might have finally cracked the consistent training thing.

First, we have my training duration from January to April 2011:

And we can compare that to the same period from this year:

Its pretty easy to see the difference. Not only have I been much more consistent, but the volume is up too, with all 4 months being higher than the highest month of 2011. So that's all very positive. The only negative here is that my running is significantly down on last year. That is of course due to my ongoing calf injury(ies?) And it's something that I hope to be able to increase slowly throughout the rest of the year.

The other thing on my to do list was a list of races to do, and I'm happy to say that so far in 2012, I've done 5/5. So exactly what I said I would do. I am unlikely to do everything on the list tho, as I don't think I'll be ready for a half marathon by June. So that may have to change.

So, what's next for me this year. Well I've got a plan (of sorts) which should have me nice and prepared for the Taupo Half Ironman at the end of the year. I"m also planning to invest a lot of time into heart rate training. Everything that I've read says that if you put in the time it works. Well I've got over 30 weeks until another 'A' race, so I have the time... lets see if what people say about it works. I am expecting to be quite humbled, and spend a lot of time running quite slowly... (which should also help protect my calf, added bonus!)

Essentially the immediate plan is a relatively easy month for may, before stepping things up a notch to the 40+ hour/month range for the rest of the year. Lets see how my consistency looks in a few months time...

April, Training Log

It's all about one big day, the northern crossing. Followed by a rest and recovery week. 

Northern Crossing, 2012

Build up:

I've slowly been building up my training volume for this race, peaking with 2 10 hour weeks. The 3 months prior to this race has been by far the most consistent training that I've ever done. So all had been going well... Unfortunately, during a brick run on Monday in the week of the race, I felt an all too familiar sharp pain in my right calf. I had re injured myself just before the event. So I scaled back my taper to almost nothing (no runs at all) and hopped for the best come race day.

Pre-race routine:

For the first time, a beautiful day for a race!

Breakfast, of 2 pieces of toast, some muesli with yogurt and fruit at 5:30. Arrived in time for the briefing at 6:30, and then set up transition, before getting on the bus at 7:10 to head off to the starting area. Warmed up with a quick jog and a bit of a stretch and a pre race GU before being off on my way at 7:45.

Run 1 19/23 9.4km, 1:03:37 GPS here

Course:

The run started with a section through the rolling hills of a west coast farm, descending over the first 2km of the race down to sea level. Where, in a change from previous years, we had a section along the beach before re entering the farm and heading to the main road. Once the farm section was dealt with there is a steep climb up and over the hill, followed by an easy section along the road towards Opononi. There is a final 1km section along the beach before reaching transition. 

Not a bad spot for a run... 

Comments:

For the first 5 minutes or so of the run I felt the worrying pain in my calf, but after then if faded away and I felt fine running. I tried to run within myself to conserve my energy for latter in the day. The changes section along the beach made the run longer, and harder, resulting in a slower time than expected for  everyone. I walked up the hill, as was my plan. It's just too big, too steep and not worth destroying your legs over. The final section along the beach was particularly tough, the tide was quite in so the only sand there to run on was soft, which is never easy. And part of the beach there was no sand at all resulting in having to get around the rocks, without rolling an ankle. 

What would you do differently?:

I haven't run enough this year. I've said it many times before, but it still holds true. Seeing as I ended up injured the week of the race I wouldn't have run anymore, as I was obviously close to the line of what I can handle. But I would like to have been able to. And hopefully by the next time an 'A race' rolls around I will be able to.

End of run 1

T1

Comments:

Pretty smooth, had some water, changed shoes, helmet on and off on my bike.

What would you do differently?:

As always, more practice!

Bike: 17/23, 82km, 3:47:17, GPS here.

The fun part, coming down a hill.

Course:

The bike began with 3 decent climbs, of about 100m each in the first 23km. The course then turns into a long, relentless climb for about 40km, (and 350m gain in elevation) across the country. The ride finishes with a fast 20km, descending 270m to the 2nd transition. All this was done into a head wind which build as the day went on.

Comments:

The plan for the bike was pretty simple, when its easy (down hill/light wind) drop the hammer and try to make some good time, and when the going was tough (up hills, into strong head winds) keep it easy, keep the cadence high and try and spin my way to the finish. And that's pretty much how it played out. The first few hills sucked, as expected, but had some awesome rides on the way back down. At times I felt that I stayed in 'easy spinning' mode too long, and should have pushed harder, but looking at the data after the race I was shocked at how high my heart rate was... much higher than my training. So maybe I was pushing harder than I realised. 


Nutrition during the bike consisted of 2 bananas, 2 bumper bars (about 150 Cal ea), 2 snickers bars, 1 GU and a bottle of watered down powerade. 

Starting the long climb towards Kerikeri (yes, drafting was legal)

What would you do differently?:

Looking back I'm honestly not sure where I would have found more time, at the time I thought I cruised too much, but the heart rate data suggests otherwise. I would have taken in more electrolytes. I had some worrying signs of cramping starting to develop about 3 hours into the ride.

T2:

Comments:

Quick and easy, had some powerade, a banana and off on my way. Had planned on putting a GU in my pocket for the run, but didn't remember until 5 minutes into the run.

What would you do differently?:

Have a GU ready and waiting, harder to forget. And more practice!

Run 2: 14/23, 7km, 53:57, GPS here. 

Course:

The 2nd run began with another run through a farm, for a few km's before enetering the bush and running along the Kerikeri river. The course featured fences to be climbed and streams to be jumped, before reaching the trail along the river, at which point it became a trail run. 

Out of the bush, heading to the finish

Comments:

I started the run fast, running initially at a 5min/km pace, which would be fast for me at any stage, let alone after 4 hours of work. After the first 4-500m I got my pace under control and settled into a pace around 6:30/km. However, the tough off road nature of the course, and the fact I was hurting after so long on the move meant that I couldn't maintain that, dropping to around 8-8:30/km for most of the run. Towards the end of the course I allowed myself to walk up some hills, but the encouragement of an older guy I was running with got rid of the walking and I was able to finish relatively strongly.

What would you do differently?:

I would have taken a GU, and possible chocolate with me, the energy boost may have helped me keep the pace up. Other than that an increased running volume is the best thing I can do to improve my run at the moment.

Over all     19/23   5:48:33, 14 minutes faster than last year. 

Post Race:

What limited your ability to perform faster:

1. Weight, as with every race report so far this year, I'm to heavy to do well at this. And a particularly hilly bike course shows that up.
2. Running. I'm not running enough yet, and an injury in the build up really set me back. 
3. A lack of hill training. I should have been in the hills at least once a week in the months leading up to this. Much more than the 2 dedicated hill sessions I actually did.

Event comments:

I love this event. It's challenging, but achievable. And I'm able to see my progress from 7 hours 17 in 2010, t0 6:02 in 2011 and now 5:48... 
Its a well run event, heaps of marshals, and everything runs on time. 
My only complaint is there were a lot less individual duathlon competitors this year. Hopefully the good weather will encourage more to sign up next time.