Monday, August 29, 2011

City to Surf Half Marathon

Yesterday I participated in the Perth City to Surf Half Marathon. It was the first time I had taken part in the C2S and it was an awesome experience!

Runners start the City to Surf
42,000+ people participated in the 6 events over the day

Saturday 27th  August was the one year anniversary of the passing of Greg Childs, a relation to the Luckin's. We all wore blue shirts embroidered 'In Memory of Greg' during the race.

I am not in this photo as I was already off and running - the half marathon was an hour before the 12km walk that everyone else participated in.

I did not really have a time in mind or any particular goal for the race, just to go under 1.30. My training has been going well and did not ease up for this race as it was purely a training run - the focus is all for December. My legs were defiantly not fresh going into the race as Johan, Helen and I all got out on Saturday and did our long ride in the hills (160km).

The half marathon course is awesome, taking us from St Georges Terrace in the Perth CBD, up Malcolm Street, through Kings Park, through Subiaco, Perry Lakes to City Beach. The weather was amazing and the 42,000+ participates made for a great atmosphere!

I had a reasonable run, finishing in 1.27.52, with my GPS showing an average of 4.10 min/km. Happy enough with the result considering the fatigue in my legs, but I could feel the lack of hill running up the hills - there a lots of them! Time to get back to Helena Valley for my long Sunday runs I think.

I am now 4 weeks into the ironman preparation and my riding and running are coming along really well. I am starting to feel strong on the bike again and I am really enjoying the long rides we are doing on Saturday. Swimming has been a bit of a struggle over the past few weeks and I believe this is a result of the increase in my bike and run training. I am confident that over the next few weeks my swimming will bounce back... stronger than ever!

Week 4 Training
Swim - 11.5km
Bike - 270km
Run - 71km





Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Business as usual

Not much to report over the last two weeks... I'm training hard and loving every second of it.

Last week I had my first big run week and I recorded 80km in the training diary. This week I will pull the running back slightly before building it the following week.

I had a big day of training on Saturday, which consisted of 170km in the hills with a 20min run off the bike and a 3.5km swim set in the arvo. A total of about 7 hours training. I loved it. Looking forward to another 15 weeks of it!

My training for the last two weeks:

Week 2 (17 Weeks to go):
Swim - 9km
Ride - 220km
Run - 50km

Week 3 (16 Weeks to go):
Swim - 12km
Ride- 270km
Run - 80km

I had a bit of a rest day today with a massage and an easy swim. My body is feeling great now and I am looking forward to yet another big day in the saddle on Saturday followed by the City to Surf half on Sunday!

Tomorrow is the 100 day mark till Busso Ironman.

I will give a more detailed update this weekend!

Cheers,

Andy





Sunday, August 7, 2011

It's begun.... 118 days and counting!

The 2011 edition of Ironman Western Australia is 17 weeks away.... and I will be there on race day! I have worked out my training plan, penciled in a few half marathons and fun runs, cycling races, a duathlon and an Olympic distance race in preparation for the big day. My goals have been set and I am ready to begin my journey!
'Earn the Dream' - is the mantra that will help me get through the next 118 days!

Last week I was on board the Super Star Virgo (a cruise ship) cruising the Malacca Straits with the Luckin family. The cruise went from Singapore, to Penang, Phuket, KL and Redang. It was nice to have a week of doing nothing and relaxing - no work to think about, not  feeling guilty about missing a training session and eating all the food I wanted (we went a little crazy on the buffets....). This holiday has been planned for a while and has been an important 'flag in the sand'. I gave myself a few months of unstructured training after the Busselton 70.3 and this cruise represented the start of my Ironman program.

 Redang Island - Malaysia
 Mark, Lisa and I on the ship
 Lisa and I in the 'Bella Vista'
 View from the Singapore Flyer
 Redang Island, Malaysia

As of Monday, Ironman training has begun.... My training volume was low this week, however I will increase the distance over the next 4 weeks.

Week 1
Swim - 9km
Bike - 170km
Run - 52km

The sun is starting to show slightly earlier in the morning but the rain is still here! I am looking forward to seeing the end of this miserable weather.

Stay tuned for updates as I prepare for my first Ironman on 4 December 2011.

Cheers,

Andy