Tri mutterings

[andygates]

A few days on and I've had time to post-mortem Bude. It comes down to the swim being a right 'mare. I can't blame the conditions, which were pretty nice; I can put some blame on stress (which was high) and newbieness, but basically it's just that my crawl wasn't easy. Turns out from my diary that I hadn't had a good long solid crawl-bash for *ten* days beforehand.

St. Friel says, and the biomass and I generally agree, that newbie skills are developed through chronic exposure: in other words, lots of swim sessions. So that's what I need to do - one committed epic a week ain't enough. Time to take out a membership and get a routine.

Which segues conveniently into the idea of a large-scale training plan. Friel (Triathlete's Training Bible) lays out a truly epic scheme which is pretty much High Magick: lots and lots of sensible-sounding theory (tapering, peaking, base, blocks...) and rules which end up with a calendar of doom. Since I want Cotswold (10 September) to be my first "proper" rather than "newbie" race, I'll draw up the rolling monster and see how it goes. Goals for the race are:

1) Complete the swim all-crawl and in good freshness.

* Join Exeter Tri and swim regularly
* In August do OW practice at and over race distance

2) Have a bike split of better than halfway up the field.

* Maintain summer century fitness.
* Do speed drills as if for 10-mile TT.
* Enter a 10-mile TT?

3) A run time of 28:00 or better.

* Work on faster cadence.
* Drop some weight (!)

The nice news so far is that I feel like I've passed some interesting fitness threshold where active recovery is more appropriate than total rest and where I can train twice a day (previously, only bike-commuting fit in that description). So I'm hopeful for more improvement.

Oh, and Skean: Good luck for the weekend! How's the water? Warm yet?

Comments

[skean.livejournal.com]

The Missus said to me the other day "you seemed to have much more of a plan when you were training for the Marathon". Which is absolutely right - I've failed to adhere to any kind of structure in my training, which I think will show this Saturday :-/

I am kind of looking forward to the mass start down the ramp, but after that I suspect its not going to be much fun. I am still struggling with the rules a bit too - turns out refreshments are prohibited completely, even on the bike, as they provide everything. Of course I'm saying just take it easy and see how the first one goes, but its a competition - I want to do as well as I can!

Plus points:
-Looks like it will be over 23C in the water
-Its not as far as London is going to be
-This is the first race I get to start knowing that Xeeny isn't going to beat me :-)

[andygates.livejournal.com]

Structure schmucture! The start's going to be a big splashy fight. Just remember the Bierkeller and you'll be fine. That refreshments rule is weird though, must be a sponsorship thing. Hope it's not Gatorade!

Actually, I wonder if anyone ever crowd-surfs the melee..?

[thudthwacker.livejournal.com]

Hope it's not Gatorade!

And, because I'm up for listening to a rant this morning: "What's wrong with Gatorade?"

[ravenbait.livejournal.com]

As far as I'm concerned it's just nasty.

Oh! Oh! Maybe my honey stingers will have arrived today!

[andygates.livejournal.com]

It's sweet, sticky, full of hideous azo colourings that'll bioacculumate and give you day-glo organs on the autopsy table, and makes me gag. And it has a really stupid name. Next question?

[simoneck.livejournal.com]

And yet American's love it, to the level that GSK sees no point in releasing Lucozade over there. Now what does that say?

[simoneck.livejournal.com]

Forgot to mention 'WOW' and 'I'm very impressed'.
Also jealous, I can't seem to muster that dedication to fitness.

[andygates.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure, but it makes me want to kill marketing people.

[skean.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I much prefer Powerade. Its far more Ickstream!!!!

Looks like its Sponsored by Sponser (sic)

Power porridge sounds cool.

[andygates.livejournal.com]

Oooh, vitargo and betaglucans!

What the flying foxtrot are vitargo and betaglucans?

The sport tea looks nice. Very European - isotonic iced tea.

[skean.livejournal.com]

Just went and picked up start number. The athletes village is also for the Swiss Ironman on the Sunday. Today they are running training clinics and they have a endless swimming tank where you can pose.

MY GOD THEY ALL LOOK PROFESSIONAL!!!!

There are hundreds of tanned carrot shaped people wandering around or crusing past on their bikes at 60kmh. I made the mistake of standing in line for my licence for the Ironman for a bit - that was suitably intimadating.

The transitiion zone is about half a klick from the swim start, so you have to wander through athletes village in your whatever (great! me in a gimp suit!). The water exit ramp is frighteningly steep. But its OK, the emergency one that leads to the heli evac pad is much shallower.... The finish is inside a stadium made of rows and rows of spectactor seats. Gaaa!

Feeling rather overawed (ok, thats the nice way of putting it - nervous is the honest truth) about the whole thing at the moment. I'll be getting a lot of sleep tonight I'm sure.

[andygates.livejournal.com]

Ooh, an endless pool! I've only just heard about them and they sound way cool.

See what I mean by intimidatingly fit? Look at it this way: you won't be the token fat boy ;) As for gimp suits, you just have to turn off your vanity gene and you'll be fine.

Ah, yes. That could be a problem.

Still, instead of being intimidated, chuckle over the Ken and Barbie effect. Faces and hands in full detail, bodies vague outlines, and no external sexual characteristics. Wetsuits are the rubber clothing even a Mormon could endorse.

Personally I like a crowd at the end. Gets a sprint out of me - but I'm the kind of muppet who laps up external motivation.

Now remember: you are cool. You are the Spirit of Cool Britannia about to show Johnny Foreigner just what it means to swim in a lake. You're practically Byron. You are a tiger. Rarr!