It's a F'n warzone out there!

I am starting to settle after a particularly hairy morning this morning. Ten minutes into what was going to be a 4hr brick session today, I got hit by a car and my bike was totaled. I am luckily(I always find it funny people say 'lucky' in these situations), not too damaged. I have some bruises, aches and grazes but nothing serious at all. Thankfully, I was thrown away from the road and didn't go over or worse under the car. I keep picturing worse case scenarios.

The driver was a little old Vietnamese lady. I was riding well left on a two lane road and I was hit from behind. The driver's daughter tells me that her mother tried to avoid me, but her car doesn't have power steering and her arthritis makes it hard to turn quickly... Why am I struggling to drag up some empathy...

There was no squealing tires and she didn't stop till she was about 80m up the road. She just sat in the car, and I, after getting up and checking that I was in one piece and getting my bikes remains off the road, had to walk to her (I removed my bike shoes in case I had to give the driver the 'good news')and give her directions in handing over her drivers license, a pen and some paper. I took down her details and by the time I finished, I admit I felt a little sorry for her, because she looked like she might have a heart attack.

In the process of the crash I was thrown into my riding partner and his bike received some cosmetic damage also, and I think he took an aerobar in the back, which would have hurt. Thankfully his wife was able to come pick us up and take us home. Which I appreciated.

It sounds like my bike will be covered on the drivers insurance, which is a relief, I would hate to have to have battled with them to get a new bike. I only hope the insurance company gets it sorted quickly. Its only 71 days till Shepparton Half Ironman and I don't need more time off the bike.

The coach suggested a relaxed next 24 hrs and a visit to the osteopath ASAP, to make sure I'm running true. A fall like this morning's could cause problems over the next few weeks, if I have something out of alignment,

I haven't told Fay yet, she is at work and I think a face to face, standing up looking healthy, explanation would be best. Hope she lets me out riding again...

I just uploaded my heartrate monitor data to see how the old ticker enjoyed the action. I went from the cruising training heartrate of 120bpm to 178bpm in the space of 5secs. Obviously exciting stuff...

So ride careful out there kids, and don't think that your high-vis top is going to keep you safe. It's an F'n warzone out there.

Interesting read - Drug Test

I’m not sure if this article is common knowledge or not, but it’s new to me and I found it pretty damn interesting.

It was written in 2003, and it’s about a guy who appears to have been a pretty reasonable ultra-distance cyclist, who decided to experiment with performance enhancing drugs. Not to win a race or cheat; but to have the experience and to fulfil a host of questions he had about the physiological effects and performance gains that can result. He spent 8 months “on the junk” and tells all.

It’s one of those things that I might think “what if”, but would never contemplate going through with. Scary stuff!

Read it here:

Drug Test

Injury/training update #2

Its the end of another week of slowly but surely rehabing my knee. It has been reasonably successful, despite being slower than I would like. I got through a 30min jog yesterday and a 2hr spin this morning on the bike. I rode an hour, to watch some of the people I train with doing a half marathon or 10km run. Congratulations to everyone that ran. I was jealous to be stuck watching, which was made worse by uncontrollable shivering due to the cold. I was consolated by a plate of warm pancakes and some jelly beans, that the race organizers were providing for the runners. I think they meant to spectators to be fed too... Well thats my story and I'm sticking to it. I was concerned after last week, that the cooling off while watching the run would give my knee a chance to flare up and cause me grief on the way home. I am glad to say it didn't. Though for the first 10mins the shivering was so bad I almost shivered my self off the road a couple of times! I have my program for the next several weeks and its a long slow build back to full Ironman training program. I am looking forward to increasing the volume and intensity, so I can feel like I'm actually making progress rather than maintaining at best. Lets hope everything remains positive.

Injury/training update

It's a bit sad to be doing “injury updates”, but such is life at the moment. This weekend I got through a 20min jog on Saturday, followed by a 15min cold water wade. It was interesting to see how a little thing like the camber of the footpath, played such a big part in my pain levels. I got through 10min reasonably well, then started running along a footpath with an, I guess, “reasonable” down to the right camber. Its my right ITB that is giving me grief and almost immediately the pain increased. I clicked after about a minute and moved to the part of the path sloping the other direction and walla! The pain went away within a minute or less. It really illustrates how small things can make a huge difference and how functional the injury is. I guess for the next while I will be sticking to the left hand side of the road, at least until I get this issue sorted.

This morning I joined the 2hr Sunday group ride, to see how I held up on the bike. We have made some significant changes to my saddle position that seems to have helped. The ride went pretty well, but ended in a frustrating fashion. One of the group got a puncture which is a common occurrence and cant be helped (to tell the truth I enjoy the break, though I was missing the few kg of body fat this morning brrrr!). In the five or so minutes we waited it seemed the part of my knee that swells when irritated got a good swell on and for the last 15min I was in a good deal of pain. At this point there was no way I found to be rid of it. I think, for the next while. no stopping and ice and anti-inflammatories immediately are the order of the day.

I am feeling pretty positive, despite the niggles, a few more weeks and I can get back to smashing it. As of todays date there are 133 days till my first, what I'd consider serious race. Yes I am counting it down already...

VO2max testing for Ironman training and breathing sand

I did a VO2max test this morning at the university bio-mechanics labs, it hurt. Hopefully its worth it and it allows my coach to provide a more specific Ironman training schedule in the future.

I was a little nervous about the testing session, which wasn't helped by the email form my coach saying there would be consent forms to sign before the “smashfest” began. Also, as with most race or test type situations, I had the anxiety/excitement I usually get, which I think is part of the reason for doing this in the first place. I turned up as one of my training partners was finishing and he described it as “uncomfortable”, he is an under-stater so I expected some pain.

The test is done on a stationary bike with a heart rate monitor and a horrible breathing apparatus not unlike a scuba diving mask or a snorkel. These are connected to a big bunch of computers which strangely enough didn't beep once while I was being tested. It would have added to my impression if there had been some sort of beeping going on, but I guess they didn't think of that while designing the system. Just saying...

Once hooked up to the machinery, I was asked to stay still to get some “resting data”. I started to have performance anxiety right then and there....”Is my heart rate supposed to be that high?”....”am I breathing normally?”, “what is he writing?” and “how stupid do I look in this getup?”. Once satisfied with my resting data I began pedaling. The testing began with 3 x 3min intervals at reasonably easy tension, to get some “steady state” data....then the test proper began and the discomfort was shortly to follow. From then the tension or watts increased by 25, starting at 250 every minute. I was required to maintain an even rpm and to try to keep going as long as I could. It became pretty hard pretty quickly. Early on I started to note that the scuba mask attachment prohibited any swallowing or moistening of my mouth and throat. As a result everything dried out and gave the impression of breathing sand... Now this might sound bad,but the pain the emerged in my legs soon took my mind of the desert in my mouth. Apparently at some point the data indicated that the lactic acid started doing its thing in my legs and this was when it got tough. At the end I managed to do 30seconds at 425watts. Now I have no idea if that is good or bad but it felt tough. My VO2max is apparently around 51? again no idea what that means, now I could link you to a bunch of articles that explain it all that I have already pawed over but I won't. My coach will get a summary of my results soon and he will feedback the findings, using these to educate my Ironman training program. I think I will leave the explaining to him and feedback to you after that. I think at that point I will write a bit more about the point of the testing and the benefits to be had. Then I can tell you if its worth the $250 it cost.

Ishigaki Triathlon World Cup race live, sunday long ride and the benefits of group riding

I'm relaxing watching the ITU triathlon world cup race in Ishigaki, live. After the Arizona Ironman time zone dilemma last night, I was pleased to see that the world cup race was on at triathlon.org. The women's race just finished with the win going to Fernandez from Portugal, followed by Snowsill(Aus) and Tanner(NZ). All three are running machines, but Fernandez ran away from the other two like they were standing still about 3km from the end. Now for the mens' race.

I rode for just under 4hours this morning. 2hours of it was with a triathlon riding group that I often ride with on the weekends lately. I was feeling fatigued from yesterday. As long as I just kept turning it over I felt good, as soon as I hit a small rise or got up to crank it, there was no gas left, which was illustrated in the sprint we had over a small bridge, which I held my own on but hurt it like hell. Luckily it was right before the cafe we decided to stop at for a few minutes and some caffeine. I sure am going to enjoy next weeks recovery.

Riding with a group, triathlon/Ironman specific or not, is a great way to get those long miles under your belt. There are a number of benefits, you get to meet like minded people who are often keen to meet up at other times during the week to train. The more experienced riders are usually happy to give you some pointers if you ask politely (many even if you don't ask, heh). Often you can find new rides you haven't discovered on your solo riding expeditions, while still being able to get home afterwards. The time seems to pass much faster to as you chat with your cycling companions. The main benefit I experience is the motivation I soak up from other athletes. I like to talk about how their training is going and what their plans are for the coming season. The excitement for racing is contagious. If you can find a weekend cycling group that fits with your experience level I strongly recommend giving it a crack to see if its your cup of tea.

What is the correct ankle angle for cycling? How does this apply in Ironman?

I was sent a link to an interesting article about ankle angle during the pedal stroke on the bike. It came from a free online cycling newsletter called roadbikerider.com In my experience a lot of triathletes try to pedal with some sort of perceived correct ankle angle that they have seen on a professional cyclist or triathlete, or that they have been told about by their triathlon coach. This article argues against this and gives the example of three well known Tour de France winners, who all have very different ankle angles. The author discusses finding the angle that suits you.

The only flaw I see in the argument is that he has described a very small sample of cyclists, who may well be exceptions to the rule. Also, they are not triathletes or Ironpersons, and there may be benefits to be had in certain ankle angle when transitioning to the run in an Ironman. I would be really interested in any research that looks at the ankle angle of a large group of professional cyclists and/or triathletes, before throwing away the idea that there might be a (more) right way to pedal. If any of you have seen any other good articles on this subject please email me them or leave a link in a comment. Cheers.