Coming Down From Altitude!

Well last week marked the start of the serious stuff and a crossroad in my training - I had a choice to make - head down or lay down. I opted for the head down approach - roll through the weeks training and start the search for my mojo.

Vital statistics for the week therefore came out as 16km in the pool, 266km on the bike and 60km of running. The majority of sessions this week were at steady state to try and limit the stress on my body - I had a crack at a couple of high intensity sessions and made it through - they weren't particularly pretty and although I didn't quite find my mojo this week I know it is out there somewhere!

Towards the end of the week I realised that my running shoes were not going to make it to Kona - I have tried a few patch up strategies but I think I have to accept they are well and truly gone burgers! The growing holes along the side have begun to let the rain drops in and at the end of my run on Saturday the insides were more wet than the outside!! I always end up dragging out the life of my running shoes beyond what is reasonable which I know is far from sensible given the fact my feet tend to have a habit of acquiring stress fractures! I just hate the feel of new trainers on my feet, the process of breaking them in and the fact that they don't feel like your own for a few weeks! But if I start now by the time Kona rocks around we will have knocked out a fair few kilometres together!

I had to squeeze in a few tests amongst the training to try and discover the route cause of my anaemia! I think every lab in Auckland probably has some piece of me sat under their microscope at the moment and as the week progressed I decided that to work in a lab you have to be a special sort of person!! So far the results aren't in but my GP made the decision to start some Iron supplements in the interim and then hopefully when some results come back we will have a clearer action plan - most likely an Iron infusion or a series of high dose intramuscular injections. I leave New Zealand in just under two weeks and won't have access to blood tests whilst I'm in Kona so if I can leave knowing that the iron levels are on the up that would be a good place to be.

I've been met with a few interesting vibes and thoughts this week! Some people have assumed that Kona is now not going to be a happening thing or that it isn't going to be the race I'm hoping for - already writing me off 6 weeks out from race day. That has been a little surprising - I guess I'm the sort of person who will back my team regardless of whether they win or lose or have a good day or not so good day - so it has caught me a little off guard! Others have asked if I thought the anaemia was enough to make me DNF a race - perhaps that is more a lack of understanding about the relationship between iron and haemoglobin more than anything else! I think the fact my GP was surprised I was even managing to get out of bed brought it home to me just how close a call I had had!

Put simply iron is needed to grow haemoglobin and haemoglobin is the part of your blood that carries oxygen to where it is needed. My haemoglobin in April was 140 so well above the 120 lower end limit. Since April my haemoglobin has dropped to 90 so by just over a third. I have therefore been limited physiologically to 65% functionality - it doesn't matter how hard I try to go - my body can only deliver 65% of the oxygen it is use to getting to where it is needed. So my poor little muscles have been struggling a little in recent weeks and I have been feeling pretty trashed. However here is the plus side - you always have to look for one - if you have been following my blog for the last 6-8 weeks you will have seen that I have pushed out some big weeks already and now in retrospect I've done that and built up a good fitness base over a period of time where I've been getting increasingly oxygen deprived. So you could look at this a little bit like altitude training where athletes train where there is little oxygen available to them - the goal of altitude training is to encourage the athlete to produce more haemoglobin so they are more oxygen efficient when they come down from altitude - so applying this to me - I've spent somewhere in the region of 6-8 weeks 'at altitude' and now as I start to munch my way through the Iron supplements so I can grow more haemoglobin it's a bit like me coming down from altitude :) It takes roughly 2 weeks of Iron therapy before your levels begin to increase and then around another week for the body to back this up with haemoglobin production - So when I do finally start to grow some more haemoglobin I should notice a pretty big difference in how I feel whilst I'm training........more oxygen = better performance!

So just to clear up a few random speculations - Kona is still very much a happening thing - my goals for the race have not changed - and I plan to go as bloody hard and as fast as I can on race day with my new and improved blood levels! Wahoooooo!!! Bring it on!!

Just need to go out and find my next pair of running shoes to do it in first :)

DNF - First time for everything.......

Well it has taken a long time for me to feel able to sit down and blog about my first ever DNF (Did Not Finish) at the Capricorn Half Ironman last weekend. For those of you that know me those 3 letters do not sit well with me - and in 5 years of racing triathlon I have never ever posted a DNF result - first time for everything I guess.

Probably the most disturbing element of those three letters for me was the fact that I have lined up for several races pretty broken at the start and always finished. Last year at Kona I got a stress fracture in my foot during race week but I still ran every one of those kilometres out on the marathon course with a foot three times the size of the other! This year at the Tauranga Half Ironman in January I was still recovering my foot from the stress fracture and had rooted my hip in the weeks before the race - yet I still lined up and finished the run - depsite not running more than 15 minutes out on the road in 3 months. Perhaps therefore when I pulled the plug on my race whilst still out on the bike course I'm not sure who was more shocked - me or my support crew - after all I had put more than enough hours in during the build up and I was really hoping for a pretty spectacular result!

On reflection and with the results of a few blood tests it is no surprise that I didn't finish - perhaps it is a small miracle I made it to the start line - but it is fair to say posting a DNF knocked my confidence well and truly to ground zero levels!

Race week had been busy and I felt tired but put this down to the various flights and travelling I had done to get to the race city and venue. However I woke up on race morning not really feeling quite in the zone but figured by the time I got to transition the adrenaline would be flowing and I would be pumped up ready to rock! In transition I went through the usual motions of setting up my bike gear and getting my transition area set out in the order I like. I was still feeling quite flat so I went across to the side of transition to talk to Hannah who has missed only one of my races in 5 years! I quietly confided in her that I really didn't feel good, that I felt really tired and couldn't get the energy levels up - completely unphased she gave me some reassurance and told me to go kick some ass! With that I joined the parade of wetsuit clad athletes on the 2km walk down the beach to the race start.

The race start was waved so I had spent a fair amount of time waiting for my wave but finally we were called to line up. My swimming has been steadily improving so during my build up I had been looking forward to the swim to see what sort of a result I could get - the hooter started and the group surged foward down the beach into the water. I was a little unnerved that even on the run down to the water I seemed to get left behind but brushed it off as being a little rusty in a wetsuit! The current was meant to be behind us but today is was flowing across us and making it hard work to swim in - I could feel myself dropping off the pace and as another wetsuit zipped past me I tried to hang on to their feet but inevitably got dropped - I couldn't seemed to get it right and panic started to set in. Finally the last turning buoy appeared and I was thankful that the swim would soon be over. As I exited the water I was pretty horrified by my time and to make matters worse I felt completely trashed! I hit transiton and resisted the urge just to lay down next to my bike and go to sleep rather than get on it and ride it!

The cycle was a 5 lap course so I desperately tried to gain some lost ground on the first few laps. Usually I come out of the water with quite a bit of work to do on the bike and run so this race was no different. I mulled over the swim in my head trying to figure out what might have gone wrong but the reality was I needed to try and push it out of my head and get on with the task in hand. I guess the problem was that I didn't seem to be able to muster up a race pace and as the laps went by I began to slow down. At the start of the 4th lap I got a case of the vomits - this isn't too unusual for me - normally I just need to swap to racing on only gels when this happens - so I made the switch and hoped for an improvement - it never came. As I neared the end of the 4th lap the vomiting continued - my average speed had dropped by 7km/hr and I felt completely exhausted - I caught a glimpse of my support crew Hannah and Michelle - pulled up on the side of the road next to them and pulled the plug on my day. It probably took Hannah about 2 minutes to register that I was telling her my day was ending on the side of the road and not at the finish line.

Over the next few days I was truly overwhelmed by the support of my family and friends. I recieved countless phone calls, texts, messages and emails all full of warm fuzzies and inspiring words. However that didn't stop the mounting torture inside my head as I tried to figure out what went so horribly wrong - with Kona looming I felt I needed to figure it out and fast. My swim coach Ali Boggs was convinced I had some sort of virus or that I was harbouring something - but I didn't feel sick - just exhausted. I had a debrief with Tri coach Tony and we attempted to dissect my head, my feelings, my training load and strategy - I was encouraged to try and step back from the DNF and look at the bigger picture.

So when looking at the bigger picture I decided a trip to my GP might be worthwhile. I had considered a GP visit a couple of times over the last few months because I felt tired and was struggling at times with the sets that required explosive strength and speed. I had shyed away from going before because it felt a bit lame to go and say I feel really tired all the time - at the end of the day it is my choice to lead the lifestyle I do - I choose to train the hours I do and work 12 hour shifts - plus feeling tired and fatigued is part and parcel of training for an Ironman - I guess I had normalised the level of tiredness over the last few months. The three letters DNF had however given me the confidence to go and as I sat in my GP's office rambling and blubbing about the events of the weekend and the last couple of months he began to write a form for a barrage of blood tests - I did breathe a sigh of relief that at least he was taking me seriously, perhaps the tears helped, and that he wasn't going to send me away and tell me to train less. I have in the past suffered from a major vitamin B12 deficiency which results in anaemia so his main concern was that it has resurfaced.

Later that same evening I got a phone call from my GP and his first words were there is something wrong with you! I can't describe the feeling of complete relief as he rambled off the first lot of blood results that had come in. My ferratin (iron stores) were only 3 and they should be >40 and my haemoglobin was 90 and should be >120. I am quite profoundly anaemic and must have been now for some time - the next question is why and as yet my B12 level hasn't come back but given my history it seems this is probably the main culprit. I think this explains the vast amount of hours I have been sleeping both night and day, the feeling of complete exhaustion most days and the fact I have struggled with the speed work in my training - I haven't been able to get sufficient oxygen to my muscles for the fast stuff. The great news is that is is fixable - we are waiting for all the results to come back but most likely I will need a couple of super sized injections of vitamin B12 and a whacking dose of iron!

So perhaps in some ways the DNF was what I needed in order to look at the bigger picture and admit to myself that I haven't been feeling 100% for some time now. As disappointing as it was to line up for a race and not finish it has meant that I have identified a much a bigger problem that can be corrected before the race that really matters - Ironman World Championships! My GP is convinced that if I had continued to train at the level I am then I wouldn't have made the finish line at World Champs and realistically probably not the start line so I guess the moral of the story is that every cloud really does have a silver lining!

Race Week Taper!

And so taper week has finally arrived and I'm now 6 days into it with race day looming tomorrow! Race week in a different country or city is always full of challenges - you need to figure out where you can go to do the easy training sessions before race day, suss out the race venue and hunt out replacements for the things you have inevitably forgotten to pack!!

I arrived into Brisbane on Sunday night which is about 600km away from Yeppoon where the race is being held! I was staying with friends Hannah and Michelle in Brisbane for a few days before flying out to Rockhamptom - 45km away from the race venue! I figured Brisbane would be a good opportunity to start acclimatising to the heat and it would prove easier to suss out swimming pools etc with a bit of local knowledge on my side! Hannah had found me an awesome 50m outdoor pool to swim in which was only a 15 minute bus ride away from their place so it was nice to get a swim in outdoors with the sun on my back although I do have to admit to it being a little chilly :) Running was easy to navigate around the city and I'd decided to save my cycles up for when I arrived in Rockhampton so that I only had to assemble my bike once before race day!

My bike box had taken a complete hammering on the flight across the Tasman - it had holes punched into the sides and resembled a triangle shape as opposed to the rectangular form I had farewelled it in at Auckland airport! Thankfully my bike was still in one piece and I hadn't lost any vital items out of the holes in the side - I had horrible visions of having to race naked or run in bare feet! By complete luck Hannah lives opposite a bike shop so I was able to beg a new box for the next plane trip!

Weather wise Brisbane did nothing for the heat acclimatisation plan! Monday was around 20 degrees which was lovely but then a freak weather front ripped through Queensland and with it brought cold fronts and torrential rain - temperatures were down to 10 degrees and in the remaining 2 days I spent there Brisbane recorded the largest rain fall for August in 120 years! Much to my complete surprise as well as the lack of sunshine I woke up on Monday morning with a sore throat! Obviously non too impressed by this having gone through the process of having my tonsils taken out a couple of months ago to get rid of this very problem - race week lurgy! However it was no where near as bad as the full blown tonsillitis I am usually plagued with and responded to the concoction of Berroca, ice blocks and a pharmacy load of vitamins - by Wednesday it was gone - and so I had to concede that indeed having the tonsils out was worth it after all!

Thursday afternoon I arrived in Rockhampton - 23 degrees, blue skies and sunshine! I quickly assembled my bike and hit the road for a 90 minute spin! Now it's always tricky knowing just where exactly to cycle in a strange place and I figured the best strategy would be to cycle out towards the race venue - I received a few toots along the way - it was a dual carriageway with a fair few trucks but it didn't seem too treacherous at the time! On my return however I learnt that I had just tootled out along the notorious Queensland Bruce Highway which perhaps may explain the odd toot from people!! I opted for slightly different cycle routes for the other days!! My bike has taken the two plane trips well - the gears needed a little bit of tweeking and my headset is a bit stuffed and grunty but all in all the bike looks pretty mean for race day!

Hannah and Michelle arrived into Rockie yesterday and we pootled up to the race venue which is set in a massive hotel resort! We did all have complete accommodation envy as the place is super lush but also the prices are very lush and after all this is triathlon on a shoe string! Our accommodation is about a 1/4 of the price and although we have hired a car and have to commute 45 minutes on race morning it still works out at half the price....we just had to keep reminding ourselves of that!! The girls have got their bikinis packed ready for cheerleading from the poolside tomorrow and there is even talk of a well timed slide down the water chute as I pass over the resort bridge on the run course!

The course itself is a little hard to judge! The swim is in the sea but yesterday when I did a little test swim the current was in a good position for the course and it wasn't too choppy at all! I was a little shocked to discover that on exiting the sea you have to run up a vertical sand dune and then up some stairs and along a stretch of path to get to transition but a few practice runs up the sand dune and I think I have mastered the art of running up it!!! I did a couple of laps out on the cycle course yesterday - it is pretty darn windy out there and I'm not sure if it's the tail end of the weather front lingering around or if its usually that windy! Rumours are that the winds are pretty wicked so I will be putting all that high cadence work to good use!! I haven't really been able to suss out the run course - it's 3 laps all through the resort grounds and through some bush trails - I'm looking forward to the run though and hopefully the heat won't get to me too much!

So I'm pretty much good to go! Just got to go register and listen to the race brief before tucking into a cheeky pizza and having an early night!

In the Zone!

So this week the wind down began and the training was cut back with the Capricorn half Ironman looming! Vital statistics for week number 18 are 12km in the pool, 200km on the bike and 45km of pavement pounding action! For me the focus this week was to hit the hard sessions hard and then to use the easy sessions to recover as much as possible, particularly after the big bike week last week!

I always find this week (2 weeks away from race day) the best week to start engaging the mind in the racing zone! I find the buzz of race week tends to sap me a little of energy and by the time I've gone through all the race week processes and final preparations race day can arrive and feel somewhat of a shock to the system! So I like to use this week to firm up the race plan and to use the harder sessions as little race simulations to start to get myself in the zone! The relative calm and order of this week was however a little disrupted as I needed to start going through some of the race week preparations early so that I would get on the plane to Australia at the end of the week with everything that I needed to race! So perhaps I can place blame on this disruption to my usual zoning for a rather tremendous Faux Paus on my part that almost saw me grounded in Auckland!

As I was dismantling my bike into its box the night before I was due to fly out to Brisbane it suddenly dawned on me that I hadn't sorted out my electronic visa! No problemo I thought - usually you just hop on line and submit an electronic travel authority which is instantly loaded into your passport and you finalise the visa on entry into Australia. Unfortunately I learnt that night that the system had changed 12 months ago and you were now required to apply for the whole thing online which takes a minimum of 2 working days! Heart stopping moment combined with nuclear style meltdown and flashes of me appearing on the TV programme Border Patrol being deported from Australia!! Quick phone call to Air New Zealand to see what the rules of my fare were and whether I could delay my departure for a couple of days - short answer was yes but it would cost the same as re-booking a new return ticket. Dilemma. As it was the weekend I couldn't speak to anyone in Australian immigration so I figured that I would sleep on it although I can't really say that I got much sleep - the image of being deported was very striking in the early hours of the morning!

So morning rocked around and my gut instinct was just to get on the flight and try to talk my way in - if I had to get on a flight back to New Zealand and wait for the visa to process online then I hadn't lost anything - if I delayed my flight it would cost the same as having to return the same day I arrived. I carefully placed a few select phone calls to those a little older and wiser than myself to see if they agreed with my decision - 2 out of 3 said go for it so it was full steam ahead! My good friend Zoe arrived to take me to the airport and found me in my usual state of chaos with the extra bonus of me not having a visa thrown in there!! Several cans of diet coke resus later and I was at the airport with the parting words from Zoe just to call her if I arrived back in the country later that night!! Gulp!!

As I took my place in line to check in for my flight I was totally oblivious to the fact that without an active visa in my passport to enter Australia I wouldn't actually be allowed to leave New Zealand and get on the plane! I quickly became aware of that little rule when the counter lady calmly told me that I didn't have an approved visa to travel and that I would not be able to travel until it was approved - second near cardiac arrest - I had not anticipated having to start the blagging process so soon yet suddenly sentences like computer system error were falling out of my mouth! I was quickly directed to customer service desk and after the longest 30 minutes of my life where I swear my heart only threw off a single beat each minute I finally had a visa!

And so I am now safely and legally in Australia in the warmth of the Brisbane sun where the weeks temperatures are predicted at 24-26 degrees! The Capricorn Coast is about 2-3 degrees warmer so tomorrow it will be time to get out in the sunshine and back in the racing zone that I momentarily stepped out of for 24 hours during the visa chaos!

It feels good to have some sunshine on my skin :)

A Solid Steady!

It is hard to believe that I am now through the other side of week 17 in the build up to Kona and less than two weeks away from the start line of the Capricorn Half Ironman! Time seems to have moved very quickly over the last couple of weeks!

So week 17 was a bit of a biggie - the last solid week before the training winds down a little going into the Capricorn! All up I swam 16km, cycled 370km and ran my way through 40km. The run volume was down a little after a big run week last week but what I lost in the run kms I made up for on the bike!

I revisited the 40km time trial this week which went better than it did 2 weeks ago! I had a few technical hitches at the start.....namely a flat tyre when I got my bike out of the car and then an exploding inner tube......and although I did almost verge on a complete sense of humour failure ultimately I figured it was better to get these things out of the way before the start rather than part way through!! I managed to pace the time trial better and shave a couple of minutes off my last attempt although I averaged the same power over all! My power comparative to this time last year is actually down by about 18 watts over this specific time trial distance so trying to figure out why that is has driven me a little nuts over the last week! I've been thinking about my weight, type of training and volume but nothing seems to jump out much! Perhaps my legs are generally just a little more tired!

The majority of the big bike kilometres were spent on the indoor cycle trainer! Not because the weather sucked but because I got taken out by a car at the end of the week - slightly hairy moment bouncing on the bonnet of a moving vehicle but miraculously other than a whack to the head and a sore neck I came off pretty lightly! I haven't been able to really turn my head completely to the left yet so I figured it would be safer to stick to the indoor trainer until I regained the ability to look both right and left!! I managed to set a new winter 2010 indoor cycle trainer record for myself......5 hours........which went surprisingly quickly with the radio playing in the background and a decent stack of fuel to go protein bars!

On the swim front I have been trying to push myself to hit faster send off times although I'm still lacking the umph towards the end of the bigger sets! I find swimming frustrating in that respect! I seem to spend so much time in the pool to gain just a couple of minutes in an Ironman swim whereas if I invested as much time in my cycling or running I think the relative improvements would be much greater! It will be good to get some ocean swimming in once I get over to the Capricorn race venue.....I'm just hoping that the wetsuit still fits :)

All up, depsite the bike crash, I was pretty pleased with the weeks training!