Pre-Race report

ironmanlive.com click on Live coverage of the Bonita Ironman.
My race number is 140.

Lets put some wagers on my finish time.

3.8km swim, then a 600m run to transition, a 180km bike, and 42.2km run.
Expected race conditions tomorrow- start the morning off with clouds and some rain, and a bit of wind in the morning, clearing in the afternoon with strong gusts starting around 12:30.
Temp btwn 14 and 24 degrees.

What do you think my time will be? Race starts at 7am NZ time, 10am vancouver time tomorrow!

FYI, if you ever think there's a chance your computer charger may die and you're in a small town bring another. There isn't a store here in Taupo that sells chargers, so I've been without a computer for a while.

I was given a charger from a friend here for the next two days.


Will post more tonight. Off to drop the transition bags off.

Bike is ready to fire and dropped off, looks like some rain and overcast tomorrow.

Day 6- Bricks, Beer & Sunsets

The day started out like it usually does, alarm goes off at 6, snooze till 6:15, stretch, breakfast and look out to a great NZ sunrise. (sorry, no pic today)

A short swim down at the race start. I decided to wear a fastskin this morning to see how I felt in a suit I know is fast. Nothing much new to report about the swimming, but am definitely getting the hang of marking and keeping on course better than when I first got here. Swam about 1800m with a few pick ups in it. Got dried off, and went up to visit with the staff at the Taupo Times.
Ironman NZ has a program where local businesses sponsor international athletes; I was paired with the local newspaper- Taupo Times. It is turning out to be a great fit. The staff is very generous (took me out for lunch, and offered to buy me my first round of drinks after I finish on Saturday- Haven't drank since December). As well I did an interview with them and am should see the article later on this week.



My moments in the limelight carried on when I went up to the race expo. The wesuit company that is endorsed by Ironman had expressed interest in sponsoring me earlier on in the week- yes, free swag. Unfortunatly their suits and my shoulders did not agree. As it is a wetsuit compulsory race I was on the hunt to try on new suits. I had heard great things about BlueSeventy in the past so was excited to try one on. They have 7 different sizes in mens suits, most of the competitors have 3 or 4. The manager, named Guy, turned out to be a great guy- couldn't help the word play. He set me up with a suit that was a perfect fit on the first try. I took the suit out for a little swim in another retailers demo booth- the Endless Pool. On a side note, for a personal swim coach/triathlete I would say this thing is gold. Because of the underwater mirrors and the power in these generators you can get live feedback and convert a 3m x 5m pool into a great training facility. Ok, back to the good news. BlueSeventy is sorting out an endorsement and sponsorship for me- we meet tomorrow to finalize the deal. I can see some great leads that can come out of this in expanding into not just the Canadian market, but to competitive open water and pool swimmers. Anyways, will keep the posts coming about that tomorrow as it unfolds.

Race registration isn't until tomorrow, but had my bike checked today. The rear Zipp and Aero helmet are making a noticable difference in my riding- a huge thanks to my friend Lucy down here who has generously let me use them. Lucy has raced IMNZ, qualified and raced IM Hawaii, and is set to compete as an age grouper at this years LC World Champs. Last week while training suffered an injury to her knee which has forced her to pull out of the race. I can only imagine how tough it must be for her to go through all the motions for months, to be 99% there and at the last minute have to pull out. And despite this all, she has been great support for both myself and Markus- German friend who is staying here with us. I've been able to extract some tips that may very well may save me masses of time on race day.

After the bike check I headed for a comfy nap to get ready for my last hard training session before I race. And this is how it went....

I have never in my life had a craving for beer like I had today.

It was about 25 degrees, scorching hot, and I'd just gotten off a good brick workout. 22km bike, and 4km run. As I took my last few strides up the driveway I had that dry, cottony mouth feel that you get when you run outside in the heat, and then it hit me- I don't want water, I want the coldest, Cervesa that New Zeland has with a lime so large I can't put it in my mouth. But instead I had some ice cold water with Nuun- an electrolyte supplement. In the session I rode along the run course to the turnaround point and back, and then up to the house. I had 4 pick ups to maximal effort for 30 seconds on the bike, and this taper seems to be working. On the first pick up I dropped into a good aero position, switched into a massive gear and started pushing- I knew it was good when I was keeping up with cars (it was only on a city road), but still being able to push over 50km/hr on a flat put another deposit into the confidence bank! I'd like to say there was no wind, be there was some. When I finsished the bike course I headed up to the house, threw on the runners, a hat and headed out for a 4km run with some easy pick ups mixed in. Was holding 5:00/km pace comfortably which felt good. I have no plan on startin my run on the marathon at that kind of pace though- I want to be able to have the last 13 miles faster than the first. Definetly not an easy task, bu doable if I stay patient.

Speaking of patience, I believe that is the number one thing training for this event has taught me- patience. It is not a slugfest, or the type of training where you get better after each workout. Instead, it's the weeks of ongoing punishment and stress that over weeks and months that give you improvement. And then when you taper it all pays off!

I took a trip down to the lake after the workout for some cold water therapy and to stretch out.

Sunset tonight was stunning

Less than 3 days till I race,

37 hours to race.... getting anxious

Day 5- Wind & the bike course

Bike Setup




View of the lake @ 7am- the lake is larger than Singapore

Short message for the day.


Had a swim this morning at 7am in the lake. There was a mini competition for a 1km or a 3.8km (race distance). I signed up for the full distance, but at the last minute Aquasphere had wetsuits to demo. As I don't have a suit at the moment, and may be needing one for race day, I tried one on. The swim went well, I drafted off a guy for the first 700 and then passed him to win the non-pro event. Anwyas, I did well enough in the race this morning that I have informally been offered a sponsorship for a wetsuit. Great news! The only problem is that with my barreled chest I can't seem to find a suit that they make that fits well. I'll check in with the race director tomorrow to see if a wetsuit is actually mandatory. I can't see why it would be mandatory, the water is 22 degrees. Or maybe BlueSeventy makes a suit I can make work.


After the swim, waiting to win some sweet swag







After the race I waited until the awards- once again this week I was empty handed; was 1 number off from getting the free wheel bag. Marcus and I got our gear together and set off on the bike to see what the course is like in the early morning.





We started out fairly easy with a few fast 60-90 second speed work stuff thrown in to keep fresh. Despite the poor road conditions- virtually no shoulder, slightly aggressive drivers, and poor pavement, I felt quite fast and the most comfortable on the bike that I've been this year. I rode just under 60km; the race involves a 2 lap, 45km loops. We rode the first 30km of the ride and turned back.

The bike course- rode the first 30 km & from 60-90km on here today

Training data from todays ride. No powertap with me, so I'm relying on RPE & HR during the race.

I've been training with TrainingPeaks, and using Joe Friel's work this season. A lot of his work talks about the importance of comparing multiple variables to maximize effectiveness of training and results. My PowerTap is not here with me, so will be training without power over the race, so rely on RPE, and heart rate for the bike. Because of cardiac drift, HR will mean very little to me on the run.
That being said, in the first 4 hours of the race I can use the results from my most recent VO2 max test to establish HR zones. For those interested, these are given in a 5 zone friel format on a previous post.


Today's data showed some me a few things. 1. This race, if there's no wind could be very fast! Today I was holding 35km/hr below my aerobic threshold (150 bpm) on the flats. 2. These months of training on the bike have paid off as there wasn't a significant increase (+166--> lactate threshold) in my HR on the inclines. 3. I hope to be off the bike by 1pm- on most days the head winds start picking up around this time. This means more energy expended and less speed.

As has been the case with all my days here it's been a great one! Have a few more short practices this week, lots of rest, and maybe a few more adventures, then I'm off for a great day (and then back to a mountain of school work).


Cheers,
Pw.

Day 3- Wind, Rain, Sun & Lamb

I don't always read directions. So sometimes I don't bring necessary items when traveling. So far on this trip I've forgotten to pack two items. A wetsuit and a battery charger. Race rules changed a few days before I came that now make wetsuits during the swim compulsory. So I will be spending tomorrow looking for a wetsuit to use. Blue seventy has a nice speedskin that may work the best for me; my body dimensions don't make picking a suit out an easy job.
The battery charger was a stupid decision I made when I thought to myself that everything else that plugs into my computer gets charged from while being plugged in (my Garmin, Ipod, Iphone...). It turns out a camera does not get charged when plugged in to the computer. There will be no photos from any of my adventures today.

I've been getting up around 6 each morning so 4:00 on race day isn't such a big shock to my system. So much for a nice relaxing holiday. My morning routine involves some light stretching, reviewing my training plan for the day, checking the weather, a small breakfast and then down to the lake for a swim. This morning I was joined in the lake by 500 kids competing in the annual IronKidz triathlon. For anyone who is a multi sport fanatic New Zealand is the place to be. The newspapers talk in depth about the ITU circuit, the most recent results from local tri are on the news and access to high performance coaching and testing is a fraction of what we pay back home. Did I mention the weather? 9 months of ideal training weather, with 3 months of weather that they call "Rubish." Unfortunatly those three months are still better that most of Canadas weather in March, April & May. My swim this morning was about 2500m focusing on my technique and sighting, with 6, 90 seconds at race pace speed work thrown in to keep me warm. The lake was absolutly flat, with a high cloud cover. If that was the conditions on race day I would be a very, very happy.

After the swim I took some time to do a bit of school work, do the facebook routine, breakfast #2 etc. I also was able to get my bike tuned and ready for race day. I've been having some trouble with my derailure, breaks, and headset so had a mechanic come over to take a look. The mechanic was a friend of Lucy, the owner of the house I am at. When he was done with my bike I could tell a notable difference. I threw on some SPF 30, my racing gear and went out for a short ride on the bike course. On a side note I am very stoked on my bike setup- Zipp 606 rear, 404 front, Cervelo P2C frameset, new Specialized Tri shoes, and a Giro Aero Helmet. When I get a battery charger for my camera I will be sure to post some pictures. The bike course for IM NZ is a two lap route starting in downtown Taupo heading towards Reporoa. I took my time warming up from my place to the race start (about 4km) and from there followed the course route about 20km out and then turned around. By this time the sun had burnt off the clouds and it was hot with some significant wind. I'm feeling more and more rested each day, and can't wait to see what I can do on race day. I followed the same training pattern as my swim- noticed different markers along the route, where I can attack, where I can take in calories and where to hold back. The first 5km of the course is likely to be very fast, it's flat and not very windy with great smooth pavement- today I held about 38km/hr (130hr) on this section. I'll need to take this part easy on race day as HR is quite high after the swim and in the transition. Also, the next 7km is the biggest climb on the course. The climb is not very steep in nature- 4%, but much like the remainder of the course is on some unforgiving pavement. It's the kind of coarse, gravelly (is that a word) road that doesn't let you coast or steer with minimal effort. The rest of my ride was uneventful, except for the avacado salad I had for lunch that kept me company for most of the ride. After my ride I had a quick dip in a cold pool, had a snack, and tried again to get skin cancer out by the pool.

About an hour after I came back the storm clouds rolled in and we had a 20 minute torrential downpour. Then, just as fast as it had started we watch the clouds move past us and it was bright and sunny again.

A few things I should note about New Zealand. The milk is horrible, the vegtables are very good, but over priced. Carbohydrates are the main fuel source for most kiwis, obesity is still a problem here, even though people are more active here. I can't figure out why some things are soo expensive, and others are dirt cheap. Biking on the left side of the road gives you something to think about all the time (I've only once tried to move over to the right side of the road), and the lamb here is amazing.
I took a walk downtown to find some local food. After passing the KFC, McDonalds and Burger Fuel I found a nice resto that overlooked the lake. None of the front staff was actually from NZ, everyone I spoke to was here traveling and working there so they could extend their vacation. Even though the staff out front wasn't from here, the kitchen staff knew how to cook a top notch NZ lamb. Seasonal vegtables, local potatoes and a healthy serving of medium-rare lamb lived up to my expectations. And although the draft was flowing I resisted the urge. There will be plent of time for that after next week.

Hope everything is going well for everyone else.
My results will be available live at ironmanlive.com. The race starts March 7, at 7am NZ time. In BC that is Friday, the 6th at 10am. On the homepage there will be a live tracker and race posting with real time results. My race number is 140.

Cheers,
Pw.