Recovery week, Sydney ITU wrap up & counting down to Ironman

Thank god for recovery week! I still couldn't find my training mojo last week & luckily for me, it was time to taper before the Sydney ITU race on Sunday. My program consisted of two swims, two cycles & one run; an easy week. The highlight would definitely have been the spa/sauna after a 1.5km swim in the freezing outdoor pool at North Sydney on a very cold winter's night.

For those of you that aren't aware, the Sydney ITU race is an Olympic distance triathlon, consisting of a 1.5km swim, 40km cycle & 10km run. Last year, the race was opened up to age groupers for the first time & proved to be one of the most popular races on the calendar. Its not everyday you get to race in the heart of the city & for most of us triathletes, we have to travel quite far if we want to race. It was yet another amazing way to explore the best city in the world.

My friends LJ & Sarah came down from Newcastle for the race & we spent most of Saturday watching the pro women & men race. Man, these guys are fast! Olympic qualification was on the line so there were some very determined athletes out there. Watching their transitions was amazing. I love this sport so much because you always learn something new. I bumped into heaps of people that I don't usually get to catch up with, unless its at a race, so that was really fun & it was great to be amongst the triathlon buzz again. A guy I had never met before even came up to me at the Opera House & asked if I was "The Fonginator." Too funny!

We went to have a look at the expo & managed to catch up with Olympic gold medallist triathlete, Emma Snowsill who was getting interviewed after the pro women's race. That woman is a machine. Here she is showing a bit of Fonginator love:

Sunday turned out to be an amazing day. Sydney turned on the sunshine & I was absolutely pumped to race. We headed down to the water at 6.30am to watch the other waves go off. I wasn't swimming until 7.40am so by the time it came round to my wave, I was itching to get in the water. The guy at the start line reminded us not to swallow water in the first 100m. It took me a few seconds to realise what he was talking about. Haha!

As I stood on the pontoon, waiting for the wave before me to go, I looked around & saw spectators lining the wall around Mrs Macquaries Chair. It was absolutely amazing. I had ear plugs in my ears so I couldn't hear much but I faintly heard someone yelling so I turned around, and out of the corner of my eye were The Strumanator & Bel B. It totally picked me up so I started waving & getting all excited! When I got in the water, I remembered an episode of IMTalk (www.imtalk.me) that I had listened to a few months before about how to save time in racing & Coach John Newsom was saying you should try & be horizontal in the water before the gun goes off, that way you just start swimming, rather than trying to go from being vertical to then being horizontal. So I did & it made a huge difference trying to get away from people. There were about 85 or so girls in my wave & we were all chatting amongst each other when someone said, 'are they going to give us a 30 second warning?' And literally, 2 secs later, the horn went off!

I felt really good in the swim. I kept a rhythm the whole time & I usually never feel great in the swim; I just can't seem to push myself & I just don't enjoy it. But looking up at the Opera House at every breath made a big difference. It was pretty spectacular. That and not seeing any sharks. At the last buoy coming in, I felt a huge gush of water come over the top of me & it was the men in the wave after us, speeding past. I got whacked in the head a couple of times, and swore under water, but just kept swimming. I got to the stairs & everyone was rushing to try & get out (idiots). It was so narrow & could only fit about two people at a time. As I stood to run up, the top of my foot kicked the stair & I took a massive chunk of skin off my foot. I made the long run into transition (the longest transition of my life; my rack was right at the back too) & looked down to see blood all over my foot. I put my helmet, sunnies & race number on & got out of there as fast as I could.

I hadn't practiced my transitions since the Husky Sprint race in February so I was very nervous about trying to hop on my bike with the shoes clipped in. It took me a couple of goes to try & get momentum & one lady was telling me to hurry up. I politely agreed & asked if she could make me a cup of tea while I was there. Then, off I went, trying to fasten my shoe without taking any more skin off my foot.

The ride was tough. But it was amazing riding over the Harbour Bridge. My heart rate was pumping for the whole ride. I made the most of the descents by getting into my aero's in the big chain & just kept pedalling. By the third & final lap, my legs were stuffed & I was in granny gear going up the hills. Although in saying that, I was flying past a lot of men with ridiculously expensive bikes & sperm helmets. They were all so slow around the turning points. Made me feel pretty good!
There weren't many spectators as we rode down towards the North Sydney turn off, so I think I will be emailing USM events this week & request there be music or entertainment on the bridge next year!

When I got into transition, there was a volunteer who was yelling & screaming, cheering so loud, jumping up & down & so excited. I told her she should win volunteer of the day. Now, it was time for the run. I racked my bike, looked down & my foot was utterly gross. The top of my cleats were stained with blood & I wasn't planning to wear socks on the run so I spent a bit of time trying to make sure the flap of skin that was hanging off my foot stayed on (you can thank me for that visual later). I don't think I would've been able to tolerate exposed skin rubbing against my shoe for 10kms. Thankfully, that was the least of my problems. The stitch I had in the last half of the bike did not want to leave & I ended up running the whole 10kms with a blinding pain in my right side.

I was so happy to be on the run though as I felt so slow on the bike & couldn't wait to get off. There were SO many people on the run course cheering. The atmosphere was truly electric. I didn't appreciate it at the time as I was too busy trying to get rid of my stupid stitch, but it was really quite amazing. There were loads of people cheering for Balmoral who I didn't even know. I felt like a bit of a rockstar.

I have to mention Joe, Mary, Tamara & Saxon and everyone from BTC who did a great job at yelling at me every time I saw them; as well Tarnia Luck from Balance & UTS, Karen Tallis from The Hills, The Boycenators who surprised me in the grandstands and Laura Sidall & the Bondi Fit crew who were going crazy at the finish line. Nothing compares to the feeling you get when people yell out your name during a race. Its pretty special.

My run felt really slow & I just couldn't pick up enough speed so at the end of the race, I was disappointed when I found out I had gone 4 mins slower overall than the year before. Bloody triathletes, such high achievers & never seem to be happy with their results! But when I took into account the course changes, and the fact that I was training for an Ironman (not an Olympic distance race), it wasn't so bad. Ended up with a 30 min swim, 1.51 T1, 81 min cycle, 1.50 T2, 48 min run, for a total time of 2h43m. I thought for sure I ran over 50 mins but somehow, I managed to pull off 48. Absolutely shocked but very, very happy!

I crashed & burned early last night after the race. Last season, I think I competed in a race every 2nd or 3rd week so my body was used to the pounding. This year, I've only done about 3 races so it took a lot out of me. Training & racing are completely different! I think I have one more week of building up a bit more, then another easy week, before a nice little taper. The 6th May is creeping closer & closer & I think if I can get through this Ironman, I can pretty much do anything!

Congratulations to everyone who competed this weekend, to everyone I caught up with & very special mention to my coach Mel who came second in her age group in a stunning time of 2h23m. Amazing.

3 weeks til the big day! Holy s!#%@

Training on tired legs - a guaranteed way to HTFU!

What a week! Ironman training is officially kicking in & taking its toll on my body! I've done 15 training hours this week but somehow, the intensity has definitely left its mark.

I had a relatively low-key start to the week, as I was doing an overnight babysitting gig in Lindfield from Monday to Friday, which made it hard for me to fit in training. I would go to work at lululemon, come home & look after the kids & when they went off to school the next morning, I had to go straight to work or only had 30-60 mins of training that I could fit in. It gave me a bit of an idea of how people juggle work, life and family commitments & I have a greater appreciation for people with kids who train in this sport. I am lucky in that I have no other commitments except for work & that I get to do what I love when I can.

My ankle has been holding up pretty well lately but I am being very cautious at the moment as my achilles is extremely tight & its always bit uncomfortable when I first start running, mainly due to the lack of flexibility from when I had ankle surgery. I have been conscious of stretching every morning & night, as well as before AND after all my runs, which has helped a lot.

On Friday, I taught my first Body Attack class in two weeks. I felt good at the time, until I had to do a swim/run that afternoon, resulting in ridiculous muscle aching the following morning! All good pain though & part of the "journey!" I just wanted someone to walk all over my body with their heels though! On Saturday, I did a 90 min ride & 25 min run off the bike around Mosman (more hills). It was a very slow cycle as I had to do it on my own with the company of my iPod on loudspeaker. I need distractions :)

                                                  View from Georges Heights, post-run

But the highlight of this week was definitely today: the Balmoral Triathlon Club race at Chowder Bay, consisting of a 400m swim, 15km cycle & 4km cross-country run, followed by a long ride. I went out to dinner with friends the night before the race & didn't get to bed til almost 11pm, so when my alarm went off at 5am, it was quite a rude awakening. Now I understand why people don't go out & have a social life during Ironman training! Here is a great pic, shared by my friend Dani which was taken at the start of the swim today:

The swim was two laps, starting with a beach sprint along the sand. As soon as the horn went off, it was on. I don't remember any point in the race where I wasn't out of breath. For those of you that aren't familiar with Obelisk Bay, its a long, uneven & steep climb up to transition via some sketchy steps. Everyone walks it because by the time you get to the top, your lungs feel like they're going to regurgitate out of your chest. Definitely an honest way to start a race! I had a fast transition (quote of the day from Nicole Pollitt about having my cleats already clipped in from the start: "Oh, so you're one of THOSE people!"), and I sprinted out of T1. Had some issues getting my feet into the shoes but once I was in, I pelted the first couple of laps (it was a 5 lap course), but I struggled afterwards & got overtaken by a few people by lap 4.

My goal was to run hard off the bike but in short races like this, you are firing on all cylinders from the word go. There was no time to "settle in" or catch a breath. But I was really happy with my T2 (once I racked my bike, I was out in about 15 seconds). It was then 2 laps through bushland (which in some parts felt like we were running in sand, the grass was so long) & thanks to the amazing marshalls who cheered me on, I managed to hang on for dear life & not get overtaken, resulting in 4th female, behind Fleur, Nicole & Jill in a time of 58.05. Only 37 secs slower than my best time which I did in March last year. And even better, I won some socks & a gel in the lucky draw! Definitely made the pain worthwhile.

After the race, I was scheduled to do a 90km ride. My legs were trashed from Fri/Sat training sessions but thankfully, some of the BTC crew were heading out for an easy roll & I had somehow convinced Mary & Joe to join me for the whole ride (they've just returned back to Sydney from the States & are training for Busso IM). We started at Avenue Rd in Mosman & headed towards West Head via the Northern Beaches. Most of the others turned back after an hour when we got to Mona Vale Golf Club but Mary, Joe & I made our way towards West Head (Kuringai National Park). I hadn't ridden there for a while (was trying to avoid it for as long as I could!) & I knew it was going to be tough. That route is hard on fresh legs, let along lactic ones! There were loads of HTFU moments & at the half way turnaround (the Lookout), I felt like crying & calling a cab home. At one point, I was cycling up the steepest hill at 4.4kms. Yes, FOUR POINT FOUR kilometres! It was so embarrassing. My grandmother could WALK faster than that. The ride home was undulating too & by then, all I could think about was getting home & sitting in a bath full of ice to numb the pain.

Sarah had dropped my car to work so I could drive home from Mosman & the only thing I had in my car to eat post-ride was a gel or white bread which was leftover from the BBQ that morning. To the disappointment of my nutritionist & naturopath friends, Terri (http://www.ahealthyview.com.au/index.php?page=about) & Cat (www.catherinepritchard.com.au), I was so hungry that I smashed down 6 pieces of bread. Yep, six. I had left my wallet at home so I couldn't even buy anything on the way. So operation PRP is back on from tomorrow! Although I may rename it to Operation MBA - Michelle Bridges' Abs. Lunch was followed closely by a long afternoon nap & couch time with the remote control. God bless Sundays.

Before I finish off, I just want to give a shout out to everyone at Balmoral Triathlon Club (including all the volunteers at the race today) for their encouragement & support, especially over the last few months. Its so great to be a part of a club that is so welcoming, friendly, but most of all who believe in your ability. I love triathlon so much because of the people & without training partners, it would definitely be one a helluva lonely road. There's always someone around to kick my ass & stop me from giving up. So, massive high fives to BTC. You rock my socks off.

Speaking of socks, I am going to give lululemon a plug here. I bought a pair of their padded run socks & wore them running yesterday AND cycling today. You need to get your hands on these babies. They seriously feel like you are slipping pillows on your feet. The cushioning is unlike any other sock I have worn. And they are SO comfortable. I cannot recommend them highly enough (and I am not just saying that because I work there. They really are amazing). I feel like I can run forever when I wear them. On the bike today, everything on my body hurt...except my feet. True story.

50 days til the Sydney ITU Olympic Distance race & 69 days til Ironman!

Thanks for reading my blog! Until next week, happy training & remember to HTFU,

Bel

Sydney ITU World Championships - Race Report (April, 2011)

The 2011 Dextro Energy ITU World Championship was unlike any race I have ever done, but one I will never forget.