Ironman Austria: day 3 - ohhh yeahhhh, it's bizniz time!

Not going to prattle on too much today as, in spite of today being the busiest day for 'doing proper stuff' most of that was relatively uneventful.

The day started with the English language briefing. At this point I really need to point out how amazingly slick and well-organised Ironman Austria is. You can tell they've been doing it for ages coz it really is a class act across the board. The briefing was standard except for.... drum roll please... the announcement that the water was too warm for wetsuits.

It's amazing that a group of people who are going to ride 180km and run a marathon can be such lame-ass pussy bitches when it comes to swimming. The room went crazy, hands went up, people started shouting... heck, I think there may have even been tears. Man-up people. As far as I'm concerned, all swims should be non-wetsuit! That, or I get to use a little bike motor and wheels in my run shoes...

No, but seriously, while this obviously works to the advantage of the stronger swimmers in terms of final positions, I was a little disappointed too. I'm focusing on the process rather than the time but I still wanted to do the best time possible, and wetsuits are responsible for a 10% quicker swim in general. Still, is what it is and no point crying over warm water.

Rest of the day: 15 minutes each of swim, bike, run. Bike check-in, bags dropped off, then mainly chilling and trying to commit carbocide (following the Ben Greenfield advice to stay high fat/low carb till the day before and then go nuts on the carbs... let's see how that works!).


Time for movie in bed now. I'm not one of life's great sleepers, especially before a big race when I find it extra hard to drop off, and last time around I think I got about 90 minutes of sleep. So just not going to force it tonight - the benefit of all those heinous 2-3am bike starts in Dubai is that tomorrow's 4.30 wake-up seems like a lie-in.


Final thoughts: Austria is supposed to be a pretty quick course and I can, therefore, only assume that the bike is 30k short and the run is only 30k... we ahve a non-wetsuit swim on a swim course that, apparently, measures a bit long; then, seeing T1 today, it involves getting out of the canal, running through the Swiss cheese hotel and crossing a main road (which I assume is closed, rather than us having to dodge the traffic or wait for the lights to turn red...) before getting anywhere near the huge transition! My T1 could be longer than my swim split!


Oh well, whatever, this time tomorrow...

prepping bag before dropping them at transition

the steed is ready to roll

huge transition - this is about quarter of it!

bikes being checked on the way in

there's an amazing festival atmosphere down in the race area - very cool

swim exit from canal

then you run under this bridge at the Swiss cheese hotel

down along this road in front of Swiss cheese hotel (don't think that's its official name, by the way!)

then across the main road and down that road opposite...phew!

   

Ironman Austria: day 2 - more chilling...

(couldn't be bothered arranging pics artfully so find them all at the bottom)

A great second day in Klagenfurt as the town and lake front really came alive with all things Ironman. I made an early start and took a bus down to the lake where I did a 35 minute swim and the water was every bit as lovely and clear as it looks fro the side. It's certainly not cold but I wasn't baking hot getting out either so it came as a surprise to hear that wetsuits may not be allowed as the water's too warm - we get a decision tomorrow. In terms of final age group positions, a non-wettie swim helps me but it's not so good if going for the time.

After that I met Sean (lives in Fujairah and we have several friends in common) and he's a lovely bloke - nice to have a bit of company throughout the day. He's been here for a few days now and ridden the bike course twice and was telling me about it. Everyone seems to agree that it's not an easy bike and feels very testing while out there, but just seems to produce good times.

I had a massage from a local Austrian lovely who could have doubled as a Baywatch babe - not the worst part of my day by some way - then had lunch with Sean at a nice caff along the lake before coming back to town for a 15 minute run and a few hours of relaxing.

Tonight was the pasta party - I only stayed for an hour or so but, like the rest of this huge event (2,800 competitors!), it was incredibly well organised and good fun. The highlight being a 20 minute dance-acrobatics demo from a big group of Danish kids. Superb!

Hoe early - going to watch a movie on the laptop with a glass of wine and hope to get a really good, long sleep. Tomorrow we get down to business with the race briefing, bike and bag check-in.

bridge over the canal that the last 1k of the swim goes down

part of race village

more pics of beautiful worthersee

race expo - apparently europe's largest outdoor sports show 

pasta party

Ironman Austria: day 1 - arriving in Klagenfurt

The fun and games from the airport continued a little once on board the plane - let's just say Austrian Airlines won't be winning any awards for luxurious facilities or sufficient leg room in the near future - which meant I got a few minutes' sleep here and there. From Vienna Airport, a couple of trains got me to the main station and then it was a relatively pleasant and extremely picturesque four hour train journey to Klagenfurt.

view from the train

I'm going to blame tiredness over stupidity but, at the first time of asking, I sort of snoozed past Klagenfurt and it was only when I saw the Ironman village that I realised. So I had to get off at the next station and catch another train back. 

not Klagenfurt

This did allow me to see the Worthersee lake and the top part of the run course and, I have to admit, the bright turquoise waters of the lake totally took my breath away.

Eventually, I got to my hotel, unpacked but couldn't be bothered to put my bike together so I went for a wander around town and decided to go down to check out the Ironman village and register before it got busy - usually on Friday. 

view from the hotel

The town is lovely - sort of small, traditional city with lovely architecture that is joined to the Worthersee by a several kilometre long canal which is also where part of the swim takes place and part of the run follows. The walk was much longer than I expected but gave me the chance to recce that section of the run course.

the canal

optimistic graffiti artists

Registering was straightforward, and the expo was impressive. It was, as predicted, still quiet but there were loads of stores, some selling brands I've never heard of. I looked around for 10 minutes and bought a couple of CO2 cannisters I needed, then had an ice cream down on the beach overlooking the lake. Beautiful.

Back to the hotel, bike together and it was time for a ride. I rode the first 15km or so of the 90k loop (it's a two lap bike course) and it's fair to say that it's anything but flat. But the rolling terrain is lovely, continually asking questions and forcing you to concentrate. A road block on the way back meant I had to divert inland and tackle a couple of decent-sized hills. I span up very easy but I don't think a couple of hills will have done me any harm. It was a really enjoyable ride and the road surface is almost as good as in Dubai.

more Worthersee views from the bike ride

After a shower, I went to the town square to wattch the Germany v Italy match with several hundred others but only lasted 20 minutes. 

imagine if Austria were actually in the Euros!

may need one of these for my bike come Sunday

streets of Klagenfurt

I was too tired and wasn't in the mood - home for pizza and a glass of wine was a much better idea. All in all, a good day here in lagenfurt with the only downside being that organisers are talking of temperatures reaching 37C on Sunday. I may have the advanatge of coming from Dubai but I still don't like or race well in the heat, so I'm about to say a little prayer for clouds before going to bed. 

 

 

Prediction time: a blog written last night...

So, I'm sat at the airport and, at the moment, I'm about as stressed as I've ever been about this whole Ironman malarey. The reason? Dubai sodding Airport. How I long for a time when I no longer have to pass through this graveyard of optimism and inferno of delayed dreams.

First up was check-in, where they informed me that my bike bag – in spite of containing far less than last time I flew with it – now weighed 29kgs. I took it aside, re-ordered some stuff and got the seat and some of the heavier accessories into my hand luggage. Excellent! Result? 29Kgs. Cost? 100 of your finest Euros, please. Oh, and a 100 dirham (20 Euro) airport 'handling fee'. My reaction? F$*k off!

After much now-embarrassing 'don't you know who I am'-ing, I was finally let through. Hurrah, I'd purposefully arrived at the airport early in order to chill out in the Irish Village with a beer in hand watching Spain v Portugal. I raced through security, slalommed down the never-ending escalator corridor, high-tailed it up many sets of stairs and hooned it down half the length of Terminal 1 to The IV. To discover they weren't showing the football.

Finally, I'm now sat, football-less, in the bar next door (it's a small protest to The IV not showing footie but, I feel, an important one) with that beer and can sit back and chill out for a couple of hours. It's a nice feeling even if the fact there's not free public wifi in every hotel and airport does wind me up a little; I probably won't get the chance to post this until Thursday now...

So, thoughts turn to my intentions and ambitions for Ironman Austria. I'd be lying if I said I hadn't totted up the best/worst combos of swim, bike, run and transition times just once or 96 times. But, I'm afraid, I'm going to have to leave both you and myself dangling on this one. My goals, my real ambitions are these:

1. Have fun and soak it all up
2. Ride and run with control
3. Get myself to 20k of the run in a position to keep running at a consistent pace, ideally getting as close as possible to a 4hr Ironman marathon

If I achieve these, I figure I'll achieve my biggest goal of all: I feel like I 'completed' Ironman Wales; I'd like to say I 'raced' Ironman Austria. Not at the front, not at the back, but to some extent I 'raced' it.

As I've said many times before too, I race well when I've a smile on my face and I revel in the atmosphere and other competitors. Why travel all that way and pay all that money if you're not going to enjoy it? At IMWales, I placed unrealistic time expectations on myself and enjoyed the experience less for it. That won't happen this time. A few months ago, I found myself starting to think up numbers but managed to stop that pretty quickly. At the end of the day, while I know the course and conditions will be far more advantageous and that I'm at a whole different level, my Ironman PB stands at 12.50 so I have to say that anything less than that is a result, right?

Hopefully it'll be a not insignificant chunk less, but that will be the outcome of smiling, sticking to the plan and revelling in the process (as well as the journey I've been on to even get to this point), not chasing the minutes.

On that note, I'm going to have another beer before boarding. Got to start the weekend on the right foot!

It’s the final countdown… da-da-daaa-daaaaaaa…

So, this is it peeps. Race week. Today is Wednesday which means I’m four days out from Ironman Austria. And, to be honest, I’m feeling pretty good. Of course there are still the occasional ‘I’m not fit enough’ panics and sporadic ‘maybe I should just get one more 150k ride in…’ thoughts, but this time around – unlike pre-IM Wales – they are rare. I feel fit, happy, healthy and eager to go.

So, what’s changed from last August/September when I was preparing for Ironman Wales? Well, firstly, I am simply fitter, healthier and better prepared. Which helps. Also, I feel like, so far, we’ve judged the taper well and that’s something I have to thank my coach for. Last Friday I rode a hard 80k as 60k just over IM race pace and 20k well over race pace, to the point of being about to blow up during the last 10k. Since then I’ve done one easy run, one easy 40 minute spin on the indoor trainer on the bike, and have continued – maybe even picked up – the swimming.

This tactic of swimming more was very deliberate and, I think, has been key. Each person needs different things during a taper and I simply can’t sit around doing nothing. Swimming has kept the routine, kept the weight off and maintained a feeling of activity but without the fatigue. Plus, I’m swimming really well which means I feel good.

Aside from that, what does the week before an Ironman look like? For those who’ve never done an Ironman event, or any endurance race, you might be interested to know. Again, however, it’s important to note that every person is different. Staying busy without getting tired is my approach to this week. So I’ve had a couple of days completely off from training and taken advantage of that time to work a little later than usual, so I can leave knowing that I don’t have anything from the office hanging over me. Packing for an Ironman is hard work in itself – there’s a lot to remember: swim, bike, run, nutrition, supplements, other clothes… add the fact that I’m away for two weeks after the race and need to fit all of that, and my bike, into 23kg check-in luggage and normal hand luggage and it’s a bit of a nightmare. Therefore, since last week, I’ve been making and adding to lists. I then started packing slowly a couple of nights ago… just to make sure.

Diet-wise, nothing has changed. There’s a temptation to pig out. There’s also extra time to pig out! But I’ve kept my diet very balanced, with a concentration on high fats and proteins and fairly low carbohydrate content (how I usually eat) and haven’t really added any extra carbs to my diet. I have, however, been salting food a little more liberally to build up my sodium levels and have really upped my water intake – not only so that I’m well hydrated come race day, but also because it’s shown to counteract the dehydrating effects of flying. I’ve had a couple of relaxing Epsom salt baths – the magnesium soothes the legs – and also have upped my intake of magnesium, while having a protein drink and an electrolyte drink every day, regardless of whether I’ve trained or not.

Today is my last day in work. I don’t fly till gone midnight tonight and between work and leaving I need to pack my bike, which I cleaned and oiled last night. I could have done this earlier but I like to pack my bike fairly last minute – silly tho it may sound, I feel like the less time it’s packed and apart, the less time there is for stuff to break or be pulled loose etc. But, also, it gives me something to concentrate on tonight in the hours before flying, rather than sitting around and feeling nervous.

It’s been a sensible approach so far and this, along with my goals (which I’ll post about later today or tomorrow morning), has kept me feeling relatively nerve-free, happy and excited. I can’t wait to get to Klagenfurt now!

Making a mix taper

And so, after all these months of early mornings, solid training volume and simple hard work in the build up to Ironman Austria 2012 – my second Ironman – my taper has finally begun.

To the uninitiated wondering what the hell I’m talking about, the ‘taper’ is the period of recovery that comes just before a big race, when you allow yourself to scale back the training, letting the body to recover, so you arrive on the start line feeling healthy, rested and ready to rock.

To those who have done an Ironman before, however, the taper means something different. It’s a time of sluggishness, of last-minute panic that fitness is slowly but steadily seeping out of your body. It’s a period during which every single meal sticks straight to your tummy and your weight increases daily. It’s a time of insecurity, sleeplessness and general hatred for humanity but, more specifically, triathlon.

Triathlon and Ironman in particular create obsessives. We do so much training that we’re addicted to it. Our sense of self-worth and our self-image becomes wrapped up in what time we were doing for those 100m reps in the pool this morning, or how many kilometres we ticked off on the bike at the weekend. When that starts to get scaled down, it’s inevitable the lack of endorphins rushing about the body is going to make us feel a bit, well, erm… what’s the technical word for it again… erm, oh yeah… SHIT!

Then there’s the simple fact that with less time spent exercising, there’s more time to think about what you’re not doing, should have done, everyone else has done etc. It’s not merely proximity to the race that makes me much more nervous during the taper than I’ve been throughout the rest of the process, but having more time to think about it.

Having been through all this once before, I’m finding it easier this time. I know feeling a bit unfit and slow is normal. I know I’ll be fine come the big show. But I also have some idea of what does and doesn’t work.

You see, although you’ll get set training programmes with standard tapers, no two people are the same. For some, the ideal taper is as long as four weeks. For others, it’s two days; although I think the average is around two weeks.

I never enjoyed tapering back in my swimming days as a kid and it’s something that – following a one-size-fits-all plan – I got very wrong last time around before my first Ironman. While a little sluggishness and a bit of weight gain are inevitable, I basically felt like one of those fat American Jerry Springer people who have to be airlifted from the house… sluggish doesn’t get close. The weight gain was probably comparable to those Yankydoodlefatasses as well. To make up for this, I went out for a couple of sessions that were too long and too hard. It was a train crash of a taper.

This is one of the real benefits of having a coach this time around. Having discussed it with coach, I’ve not laid off the training to the same extent – there’s an extra day off this week and the sessions are a little shorter but, at the moment, they are still fairly intense. I think this is something that suits me but, also, as I’ve said before, my training for this Ironman has been more of a slow nine-month build rather than a traditional 12 week peak. Also, the time I spent in the UK last month means I don’t have too much accumulated fatigue in the legs.

After tomorrow morning’s session (the team is down for a 60km, 40km and 20km time trial, although I may only do the 60k and 20k) my foot will come right off the gas but I’ll continue swimming hard and every day right up til Wednesday night, when I travel. This, I think, is the answer for me. Coming to triathlon with a swimming background, I derive a lot of my confidence from how I’m swimming. So, while swimming daily may not actually really improve my Ironman swim time, it will help me go into the race feeling good. Just as importantly, mentally, being able to keep training almost right up to the day stops me from feeling unfit, fat and sluggish while swimming doesn’t take the toll that running or even cycling have on the body and is quick to recover from.

In the meantime, it’s a case of relaxing a bit, working extra hours so I can enjoy the time in Austria doing Ironman, and trying to stop myself from eating every sweet, treat and chocolate bar I see! Otherwise, next season, you’ll be more likely to see me on Jerry Springer than on any podiums.

Talk is cheap: Dubai triathlete conversations

As a triathlete here in Dubai, I often find myself having lots and lots of the same cut and paste conversations.

Here are just a few of the regulars – for any of you who are also training and racing here in Dubai, I'm sure they're pretty familiar. For everyone else, they probably provide a bizarre insight into this here lifestyle that we've chosen in the desert.

Friend: What you up to this weekend?

Me: Well, I do have a long bike ride in Hatta and a big swim and run to do but after that I'll probably...

Friend: WOW! Isn't it a bit hot for that now?

Me: Yeah, but we start at 3am to avoid the hottest part of the day.

Friend: What do you do that for?

Me: Well, I'm training for an Ironman.

Friend: What's that?

Me: Like a long triathlon. A 3.8km swim, 180km bike and then a full marathon.

Friend: A marathon marathon? A full one? After all that?

Me: Yep.

Friend: You're not right in the head.

Training for Ironman: madder than a man with plungers stuck to his butt cheeks.

Colleague: (Cough, cough, splutter, sneeze, cough)

Me: You OK?

Colleague: Yeah (cough, splutter). Not feeling too well. Bit of a cold.

Me: That sucks. Can I get you anything?

Colleague: No, (cough, splutter, sneeze, splutter) thanks.

Me: Hope you feel better soon.

(the following week)

Me: (Ahem, cough)

Colleague: You're ill! It's coz you train too much!

This is Barney Bear. He trains too hard.

Me: So, what pace am I looking for here, coach?

Coach: All in, mate. All in.

Me: How about the bike? I was thinking around 70% max, really upping it on the last 7kms back to the car.

Coach: Erm... nah, all in.

Me: And the recovery run afterwards?Just 6min/km?

Coach: Or all in?

Me: Hey dude, not seen you for a bit. How you doing?

Newbie triathlete: Heart rate, long ride, good technique, PB! Swim, swim, competitor.com, triradar.com, new bike. Physio, hard ride, track session.

Me: Er, OK. Cool.

Newbie triathlete: Macca, Crowie, Chrissie, Lance. Raelerts, Brownlees, Gomez, Doherty, Whitfield. Rinnie. MUPPET!

Me: Sure..? Any plans for the weekend?

Newbie triathlete: Ironman, Ironman, never done a sprint.

Wolfi's sales guy: Hi mate how can I help?

Me: Just need a tubular tire, please.

Wolfi's sales guy: OK, no problem. We have this one but check out this one – only problem is it only fits on to this new Zipp Funkmeister wheel. It's made from a form of carbon fibre that isn't discovered until 2019!

Me: OK, sounds great.

Wolfi's sales guy: Course, if you have a Funkmeister on the back, you'll need a 700c RipCrunchBang on the front too. That's sold separately. It weighs -1.6g!

Me: Shit yes, I need that in my life.

Wolfi's sales guy: Now, with the Funkmeister/RipCrunchBang wheel set up, you can obviously only run the new Shimano 2iD gearing. It was developed by Tom Cruise on the set of Minority Report and the material is mined from the second moon of Saturn. They're fully telepathic and, by the time you've even thought about changing gear, they've already changed.

Me: Coolest. Thing. Ever.

Wolfi's sales guy: You'll also need a Scott frame.

Me: Er, right, sure.

Wolfi's sales guy: Do you have an SPS (Superior Pelvic Support) saddle? It's the only type that'll go with all this. The Sultan of Brunei crafts them all by hand – they're designed to feel like your bum is being kissed by 16 nubile virgins.

Me: Throw it in!

Wolfi's sales guy: And these are the new Profile Design XPC445DDD Mk 7b aerobars. They fire proton torpedoes like Luke used to destroy the Death Star. In fact, they're exactly the same as Chrissie Wellington used to bring down Nazism in the Second World War.

Me: YES!

Wolfi's sales guy: Do you want a bag for all this? They cost Dhs.2.

Me: Err, well, hmmm, better not... trying to save!

Wolfi's sales guy: OK, well, carry the 2, add the 4, to the power of six... that'll be all the Yuan in China, please.

Me: Sweet!

Riding his Scott X-Wing on his way to the 1977 Inter-Galazy Ironman title.  Mainly coz Yoda sucked on the bike. 

Me: That was a tough long run – it's hot out there!

Ben/Ed/Marshall/Flanner/Piers/Hunty/Jordo etc etc: I know! For the last 56kms, I was struggling to keep my heart rate below 45% max at 3.25 pace!

Me: I hate you.

Me: Morning!

Security staff in my building (look at watch): HAAAAAAAAAHAAAAAAAAA! Freak!