Category: Training


Sick Again – Very Frustrating

Filed Under: Training
Jan.13, 2011

Well, last Thursday I woke up with a sore throat. This progressed into a fever and fluey aches and pains on Friday, and basically I haven’t trained since. This has been the most frustrating 2 – 3 months of my life, insofar as illness impacting training (and just life for that matter) is concerned. It seems I get back into training and I get sick. I think I have had 1 week sick, 2 weeks healthy consistently since the Gold.

So this week I am keeping a food diary. I have a qualified nutritionist across the road from me and I have an appointment to see her Monday next week. Hopefully I can change my diet following some professional advice, to help my body work more effectively – and re-instate a more robust immune system than the ridiculous current one I am stuck with.

I guess the other thing this could be is my 4 – 5 year “sick period” that I get – that after its passed I don’t get sick again for years. That would be great if it was the case, as long as this was my last illness for 2 – 3 years.

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Back In Town – Training Started Up And Progressing Well

Filed Under: Training
Jan.04, 2011

I am basically back into it now. I got through 5 training sessions last week and have started strong this week, I’ve done 3 sessions already and its only lunch Tuesday :)

Yesterday morning I went down to Mermaid Beach and had a surf with some of the guys. I was out in really nice and clean 2′ conditions for about 90 minutes. I tell you, it is amazing how much you can pick up in a session like that. I kid you not, if I had have had a dozen such surf sessions in the last 3 months leading into the Gold last year – my event may have had a different result. Very positive and encouraging. I can’t wait to get back out there.

This morning I had my first ski session back after about 6 weeks off. In challenging 4′ conditions too – not the best day to start back. Anyway, I got out ok, thanks to a big lull and spent a bit of time out the back. Coming back though, I missed the wave I was hoping for, then found myself in the impact zone – BOOM!! I was smashed – so had a nice swim session in there too. Other than that, we had some great white water practise – all important surf experience.

And I just went for a 6km run. Over the last 4 weeks or so I have been getting my legs used to the Newton runners. I think they are pretty good now. I ran the 6kms with no twinges or soreness at all. Cardio wise, I am still a bit under par. I clocked 29 mins 56, my average heart rate though was 176 and max was 185. This is high for what really is a flat and easy route. Compared to this time last year though – I am a much fitter man. This is an excellent base for an assault on my 2011 events - it is going to be my year of revenge!!

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Starting To Get Back Into Training – Still Struggling A Little Though

Filed Under: Training
Dec.23, 2010

Well, I am slowly getting back into training. 2 weeks ago I had 2 training sessions, last week I had 3. I want to get 4 in this week, it could be hard though given Christmas. Then next week, hopefully 5 and after that, back training pretty much every day.

I am starting to see I have some real challenges ahead of me for 2011. Home life is going to get very busy. I have:

  • A new child due at the end of January
  • A wedding to plan and finance
  • Ross coming over from Africa for 2 weeks in August
  • A rapidly growing business

to name some of my commitments. I am certainly required to spend more time at home, helping around the house now, than I was expected to a couple of months ago. With 5 weeks left in her pregnancy, Moana really needs my help. So I am planning to try and line up most of my training sessions early in the morning. Try to make all of them quality and at least an hour and a half. Combinations will be required too. Put different disciplines in the same training sessions. Like I can go for a 30 minute run in the sand prior to board paddling etc.

Anyway – lets see how we go over the coming weeks. The aim is to be solidly back into it by the second week of new year

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As If I Didn’t Need Another Challenge

Filed Under: Training
Nov.02, 2010

Stu has a 6am board training session with the lifeguards on Wednesdays. I thought I’d head on down and do some skill work, just practising popping and rolling.

So I got up at 5:10am, got ready, hydrated, jumped in the car and headed down. I grabbed a gu energy paste, ate it with water at 5:45am, got to the beach and got ready. We did the warm up run, about 500m, grabbed the board and got ready to go out. There is a bit of a swell today, so we were waiting for a break in the sets before heading out. At this point I felt a little dizzy, like you get when you stand up too fast. While waiting for it to pass, it got worse, I heard a rushing noise in my ears and next thing I know, I am lying on the sand and could hear Stu say “no he’s ok, he just fainted”.

I’ve never fainted in my life.

So what was the cause of this? Obviously this virus is still in my body. Stu pointed out how often anxiety can cause this. No food – low blood sugar. They are all good reasons.

I have to say though, I can’t believe it!. I have never fainted in my life. Why now, 4 days before the big event? Just another challenge huh! If 46kms wasn’t enough, why not through in some illness, big swell, a last minute shoulder twinge and my first fainting episode in my life.

Well, its 2 and a half hours after it happened now and I have thought about the last week. To be honest, I’ve had enough of this crap. No matter what “you” throw at me from here on in, I’m going to beat it. So bring it on.

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One Final Hurdle – 7 Days To Go, Sick As A Dog

Filed Under: Training
Oct.31, 2010

Well, it happened. I got home from my training session yesterday morning and Moana, bless her heart, was full blown with Grace’s flu. I did everything to protect myself from it, but last night I got worse and worse and this morning, with exactly a week to go, I am gone. I am as sick as you get, anxious and thoroughly disheartened.

It looks like I still have one big hurdle to overcome before race day – the flu.

Gees a relaxed, calm, perfect taper would have been nice! That being said, its 11am, I’m going back to bed for my second sleep since waking this morning.

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One Week Before Taper – What I Want To Achieve

Filed Under: Training
Oct.24, 2010

Enjoying A Moment On The Board

This image was taken today fellow Gold competitor, Michael Leith at Mermaid Beach. We were just playing a bit after a training session, catching a few waves etc. Thanks Michael, was a pretty nice day huh!

Exactly a fortnight to go today. So one week of training, one week of taper, then the race. Realistically, I am not sure I can improve all that much any more, I have basically had my chance to get fit, taken and run with it to the best of my abilities, so with the small amount of time remaining, what is the plan for this week?

Well, if there is one area I may pick up some time still it will be on the board, so ideally, I’d like 4 or 5 board sessions this week. A mixture of paddling training and skills would be great.

I’d also like to do at least two runs, a speed session and a distance session (8 – 10kms). I know my running has dropped off a little since the half marathon, I have managed to get it back up, I don’t want to lose that cardio fitness again before the day though. I really need to monitor this inner thigh twinge I have too, so I am not sure how this will play out.

I’d like to spend more time in the ocean, particularly swimming and board. So I think one swim in the pool, the rest in the ocean. I know I will not claw any time back in the swim leg, I just need to maintain the fitness I’ve acquired and also, maintain a feel for the water. 2 – 3 swims will be stacks I think, only one in the pool though.

I’ll just keep going to the club ski sessions. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday morning will be enough. Ideally I just want to focus on technique with a small amount of intensity training. Once I get to Saturday though, I’ll be into the taper and recover week. Gees this is creeping up on me!

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Getting Thoroughly Sick Of Training

Filed Under: Training
Oct.12, 2010

Its a bit ironic posting this post, immediately after my last, but I am going through a serious burn out phase in my training. It makes sense, I have been going absolutely full on throughout the whole of 2010. That is almost 11 months of solid training, with my mind focused on competing in this one event (with a few others along the way). It is starting to get very difficult some mornings, or afternoons, to pick my mind up and get down to the next training session, even though there are only a handful of days left.

One of the things I really appreciate about this journey though, are all the things I have learned along the way.  The knowledge I have picked up about training, endurance events, food, recovery, mental training etc etc has been immense. This is stuff I’ll never forget, as I’ve earned the knowledge through my actions rather than just reading about it in books. I’ve felt the impact that changing things has had on my training and on my performance.

This burn out phase I see as one of those lessons. 11 months of solid training, solid focus on the same goal is probably too much.  Keeping in mind my original goal was to do the event next year, I would have been able to play a lot more, learn my skills this year and do the endurance training next year, spread the load so the hard core training only covers 3 – 4 months. Instead I’ve jammed it all in to 12 months work, its been unrelenting. So next time, I’ll have the skills, the experience, a better fitness base. I’ll be able to make a better, shorter plan of attack and avoid this burn out phase completely.

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Training Load – 1 Month To Go

Filed Under: Training
Oct.07, 2010

I haven’t updated any of my training schedules recently, so I thought it is high time I updated the blog, running through my current weekly training load. So Monday to Sunday, this is what I am doing.

Monday:  I try to get at least 24 hours recovery from Sunday’s morning session – so I don’t do anything prior to midday. I’ll have a squad swim session though, either at lunch time or at 5pm.

Tuesday: I have a business networking meeting in the mornings at 7am, so I need to be ready for that. I usually get a 6km run in beforehand though, the return half I try and turn into a fartlec session to work on speed. In the afternoons, there is a surf ski squad I attend, which runs from 4.30pm till dark. It about an hour and a half each evening, but getting longer as we get closer.

Wednesday is a big day. In the mornings I have an hour on the board down with the life guards. Stu takes some of the life guards training so I jump in on this. A good motivator as I am continually embarrassed by them :) Then I have a second swim squad for the week at lunch time. In the evenings, there is a weight session at the Mermaid Beach SLSC gym. If I miss the board paddle in the morning, I’ll come an hour early in the afternoon and either do a board session or a run then.

Thursday morning, I’ll either do an hour run or another board session. This typically depends on how my recovery for the week is going (legs or arms, that is the question…) and whether any impromptu squads are doing anything. Thursday afternoon, there is a ski squad – the same format as Tuesdays.

Friday I’ll do a swim squad at lunch, if I am feeling good. Sometimes I’ll drop this if I need a recovery day.

Weekends are the most important training sessions as this is where I am building my endurance. Both Saturday and Sunday tend to be minimum 3 hour sessions. They will be multi-discipline, covering all parts of the event. One of the days will build to a 6 hour session as we approach the event, the other will remain around 3 hours. Some weekends we will cover the whole course, but over the two days, others we will cover part of the course (2 – 4 legs). These on course training sessions help with both endurance and also help me to get an understanding with my handlers.

Sunday’s effort I try and complete by midday so I have at least 24 hours to recover before it all starts again. So I come home as soon as I can after training and if I have time, I’ll make up a second weight strength session for the week.

Recovery is becoming really important. I’m not actually having specific recovery days as I see how much work I am having. Rather though, I am recognising when I do need to recover and being honest with myself about it. Then I’ll take a day off.

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Weeks Of Bad Weather Making Life Tough

Filed Under: Training
Oct.05, 2010

Well, we have had bad weather for over a week, and it looks like it is going to persist for at least another week. This is a bit of a spanner in the works. I don’t really want to take the board paddling in the creeks – there is just too much rubbish washing out with all this rain, the chances of getting sick are high. I don’t really want to go out in the ocean either as the waves are really pumping, the ocean is boiling. Its big, messy, windy, wet, wild and cold. This close to the event the risk of injury, illness or damaging craft is just not worth the risk.

So ski paddling in the canals, swimming in the pool, more running and maybe board training in Lake Hugh Muntz if the rubbish settles down a bit. Or if the waves drop off a bit – back into the ocean, rain hail or shine.

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A Weary Body – Long Term Fix – Chiropractic Adjustment

Filed Under: Training
Sep.28, 2010

Everyone keeps telling me that one of the most important parts of training for an event like the Gold, is recovery. They are right. Sometimes it is so hard getting motivated for the next session when you haven’t fully recovered from the last. This is particularly so the case towards the end of the journey as training really becomes unrelenting and monotonous. Life becomes a unmitigated cycle of going to one training session after another.

I’ve found though at this end of the game, that it is all taking a toll on my body. I am starting to get many “over-use” type injuries. I am continually getting slight strains through my neck, upper back and shoulders from ski sessions and weights strength training. A couple of weeks ago I did a 6km run in the sand, with bare feet. I was trying to work out whether I will run in bare feet or with shoes. I have pulled up with a terrible case of shin splints. I’m not sure what I am going to do about these – I know how persistent they can be. All I am doing at the moment is stretching, ice, anti-inflammatories, massage, and reduced running. I hope I get rid of them soon though, they are really impacting my run leg training. Also, I have an issue with my left shoulder. Something is not quite working right in there, if I hold my left hand in front of my chest, I have no up and down strength at all. I can’t even lift a pint glass filled with water in this position. This weakness is stopping much of the conditioning training I could be doing, things like chin ups, dips and push ups.

I know most of these types of things are structural issues for me. I have spent too much of my life bent over a keyboard and now pay for it with a stooping posture. So rather than treat the symptoms like I always do, I have decided to look for a long term solution. I have started some intensive chiropractic sessions. The guy I use is pretty good. The first thing he did is got me x-rayed, showed me where my spinal alignment was and where it should be. I like that – its follows my business style – set a benchmark and a target, then stay focused and accountable to the target. And so we have started work.

Hopefully it will sort out some of these symptomatic issues I am having as well as help me long term. Stay tuned – I’ll let you know how it goes.

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