Well with a few hours left of 2010 it’s time to reflect on the year gone.
So what did I achieve in 2010
- Turned 40 years old don’t feel 40
- Run a PB in 10km race – took 3 mins off
- Every Tri I have done I have improved my time. (Based on the same distance)
- Completed 2 Tri’s in February / March and went on to sign up for some more
- Broke in a new Personal Trainer (Alana)
- Spent way too much on sporting gear
- Injured myself and spent 12 weeks playing Rehab – Thanks to Ben at Recover Sports Med
So what is the plan for 2011
- Finish off the Xosize Tri 10/11 races (3 to go)
- Complete Races 5 & 6 Active Feet Tri’s
- Complete Mother’s Day Run, Run Melbourne, Go the Tan and Brazilian Butterfly Queen of the Lake
- Try and complete Defence Lake Attack (Tried the last 2 years might be 3rd time lucky.
- Build my running back up from 5km to 10km.
- Spent time with John Van Wisse to improve my Open Water Swimming
- Maybe an open water swim or two.
What else in 2011? Who knows but it’s only a few hours away.
Happy New Year everyone
Friday, December 31, 2010
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Pain Tolerance in Sport
Saw this @ http://appliedsportpsych.org/Resource-Center/Athletes/Articles/paintolerance
Eddie O’Connor, PhD, CC--AASP
Performance Excellence Center
Pain is ever-present in sport. An athlete’s ability to tolerate pain is essential to success. Pain provides valuable information about your body and how it is performing. To maximize its usefulness it is important to understand what kind of pain should be listened to and what type is helpful or safe to work through.
First, we must define the different types of pain you can experience:
We will focus on positive and negative training pain and save negative injury pains for another article.
How you react to your pain is important.
Accepting the reality that pain is a part of training and competition may be most helpful. You cannot perform at a high level and not experience pain. Comfort and performance excellence are mutually exclusive. You cannot have them both. Prior to exercise, decide how much pain you are willing to experience to achieve your goals. When pain shows up, be willing to feel it fully as part of your experience. Let your pain be in service of your greater goal. You may be surprised to find your pain suffering will be lessened when you allow pain to be a part of sport.
More on injury and rehabilitation pain at a later date (you are not advised to push through injury pain) … but until then, “Be willing.”
References
Addison, T., Kremer, J., & Bell, R. (1998). Understanding the psychology of pain in sport. Irish Journal of Psychology, 19, 486-503.
Taylor, J., & Schneider, T. (2005). The triathlete’s guide to mental training. Boulder, CO: VeloPress.
Eddie O’Connor, PhD, CC--AASP
Performance Excellence Center
Pain is ever-present in sport. An athlete’s ability to tolerate pain is essential to success. Pain provides valuable information about your body and how it is performing. To maximize its usefulness it is important to understand what kind of pain should be listened to and what type is helpful or safe to work through.
First, we must define the different types of pain you can experience:
- Fatigue and discomfort. This is an unpleasant feeling produced by effort, but not strong enough to be labeled “pain.” Athletes learn to be “comfortable being uncomfortable,” as such efforts are a regular and necessary part of most sports. With continued effort, discomfort can turn into …
- Positive training pain. This pain often occurs with endurance exercise, and includes muscle fatigue and sensations in the lungs and heart that can range from unpleasant to what is typically thought of as pain. It is neither threatening nor a sign of injury. Because athletes know the cause, are in control of their effort, and recognize that these feelings are beneficial and can enhance performance. In short, positive training pain is a good sign of effort and improvement.
- Negative training pain is still not indicative of an injury, but goes beyond positive signs of training benefit. An example may be extreme soreness that lasts for days. There may be an overtraining risk.
- Negative warning pain is similar to negative training pain, with the added element of threat. It may be a new experience of pain and a sign of injury occurring. It typically occurs gradually, and allows the athlete to evaluate potential training causes and respond appropriately.
- Negative acute pain is an intense and specific pain that occurs suddenly, often a result of injury. It is often localized to a specific body part and is labeled as threatening.
- Numbness is rare but of very serious concern. It is when the athlete feels nothing when soreness, fatigue or pain should be felt. Instead, limbs are numb. This may be a sign of serious injury or pushing one’s body past its physical limits.
We will focus on positive and negative training pain and save negative injury pains for another article.
How you react to your pain is important.
- If you interpret your pain as threatening, or if you focus on the pain rather than concentrate on your sport, the pain will increase and interfere with your performance.
- On the other hand, if you view pain as something that is natural and necessary and interpret it as a sign that you are working hard and achieving your goals then your pain can be an ally.
- Many athletes find that recognizing that they are not alone in their pain is helpful. The athletes playing with them also hurt, and the challenge of tolerating your pain may add to the competition. In addition, athletes often report great satisfaction after persevering through a painful training session or competition.
Accepting the reality that pain is a part of training and competition may be most helpful. You cannot perform at a high level and not experience pain. Comfort and performance excellence are mutually exclusive. You cannot have them both. Prior to exercise, decide how much pain you are willing to experience to achieve your goals. When pain shows up, be willing to feel it fully as part of your experience. Let your pain be in service of your greater goal. You may be surprised to find your pain suffering will be lessened when you allow pain to be a part of sport.
More on injury and rehabilitation pain at a later date (you are not advised to push through injury pain) … but until then, “Be willing.”
References
Addison, T., Kremer, J., & Bell, R. (1998). Understanding the psychology of pain in sport. Irish Journal of Psychology, 19, 486-503.
Taylor, J., & Schneider, T. (2005). The triathlete’s guide to mental training. Boulder, CO: VeloPress.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Just Registered for Active Feet Tri Race's 5 and 6 in March 2011
Might be that the close of the year is close or I'm going mad in the funny season but I have just registered for 2 Tri's in March 2011 that will make it 3 Tri's leading up to the end of Tri Season.
These are the Active Feet Tri's Race 5 & 6 and then Xosize Race 5 week after Active Feet Race 6
Race Schedule for March 2011 reads
Active Feet Fun Tri Elwood (6th)
Active Feet Fun Tri St.Kilda (20th)
XOSIZE Tri Series 10/11 Race 5 Brighton (27th)
Good way to close out the season of Tri's before heading back into running or may be a Duathlon or two.
These are the Active Feet Tri's Race 5 & 6 and then Xosize Race 5 week after Active Feet Race 6
Race Schedule for March 2011 reads
Active Feet Fun Tri Elwood (6th)
Active Feet Fun Tri St.Kilda (20th)
XOSIZE Tri Series 10/11 Race 5 Brighton (27th)
Good way to close out the season of Tri's before heading back into running or may be a Duathlon or two.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Xosize Race 2 & Active Feet Race 2 Pics
As promised
Xosize Race #2
Active Feet Race #2
Xosize Race #2
 |
| Swim Done - very claim conditions |
 |
| Out for a Sunday Ride with no traffic on Beach Road |
 |
| Over the line - Race 2 completed |
Active Feet Race #2
 |
| Heading for home |
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Monday, December 13, 2010
Foot reflexology chart
Foot reflexology chart. Just something for the barefooters/minimalists out there. Pretty awesome!
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Active Feet Race 2 Race Report
Woke up a little before 5:00 this I could hearing the windy blowing I thought great not for a tri. After eating, showering, getting ready I check the latest weather and looked at the web cam off Patterson River the bit that worried/concerned me was the swim
The Bureau of Metrology Bay Report read
[---cut---]
Forecast for Sunday until midnight
Winds: West to northwesterly 20 to 30 knots easing to 15 to 20 knots and tending west to southwesterly later this morning then tending more southerly this afternoon. Wind further easing to 10 to 15 knots this evening and tending back westerly tonight. Seas: Up to 2 metres decreasing to 1 metre later this afternoon.
[---cut---]
Ok I can swim, but open water swimming I’m ok with open water swimming but not when it’s rough. When I arrived got my bike in the transition bag dropped off, etc. I put on the wet suit and made my way down to the beach for a practice swim which looking at the conditions was a good idea. A few of us headed out for a swim out to the first can and back in. After listening to the race briefing just before race start I thought that the wind had picked up and the bay seemed rougher looking at the weather info at St Kilda (3mins up the road from Elwood) the wind was gusting around 28km at 6am and 40km at 7am race start. Even the announce commented it look more like a surf beach that tri course. The pic below is from Patterson River taken during the morning it shows how bad the bay is.
+5mins came along – race start time off we went, got to the first can without too much effort, and started heading up north towards the second can getting dunked and tossed around, made it around the second can and started to head towards the beach, but after being run over by another group and taking on some sea water I pulled aside of the swim course and got rescued by the guys at Elwood Life Saving Club. 3 of us all had decided to call the swim off. Looking at the list on the beach as they grabbed our race numbers there was approx 20 people who also had pulled out, but under the rules you are allowed to run over to the swim exit and join back into the race. So I heading into T1 grabbed the bike and headed out. The first thing I noticed was the wind we all were riding straight into it for the first 1.5km then a side wind right up to the turn around and back again with a side wind and bit of tail wind until the last 1.5km then we had a full tail until we hit T2. Put my bike back and changed by bike shoes for runners and head out for a run. Again into a head wind but I managed to keep a 10.5km pace until the tune around which I then picked up speed to 11.5km on the way back to the finish line.
So what’s the plan? Will time to speed some time with John Van Wisse before the next Tri next year.
The results
Race Time 40:35.44
Overall Place 313
Catagory Place 32
Gender Place 190
Swim 10:20
T1 01:48
Bike 15:06
T2 01:51
Run 11:31
As for comparing to last week, well you can’t last week no wind this week lots of it.
BTW: Pics for both this weeks and last weeks Tri to come
The Bureau of Metrology Bay Report read
[---cut---]
Forecast for Sunday until midnight
Winds: West to northwesterly 20 to 30 knots easing to 15 to 20 knots and tending west to southwesterly later this morning then tending more southerly this afternoon. Wind further easing to 10 to 15 knots this evening and tending back westerly tonight. Seas: Up to 2 metres decreasing to 1 metre later this afternoon.
[---cut---]
Ok I can swim, but open water swimming I’m ok with open water swimming but not when it’s rough. When I arrived got my bike in the transition bag dropped off, etc. I put on the wet suit and made my way down to the beach for a practice swim which looking at the conditions was a good idea. A few of us headed out for a swim out to the first can and back in. After listening to the race briefing just before race start I thought that the wind had picked up and the bay seemed rougher looking at the weather info at St Kilda (3mins up the road from Elwood) the wind was gusting around 28km at 6am and 40km at 7am race start. Even the announce commented it look more like a surf beach that tri course. The pic below is from Patterson River taken during the morning it shows how bad the bay is.
 |
| Port Phillip Bay 12th Dec 2010 |
+5mins came along – race start time off we went, got to the first can without too much effort, and started heading up north towards the second can getting dunked and tossed around, made it around the second can and started to head towards the beach, but after being run over by another group and taking on some sea water I pulled aside of the swim course and got rescued by the guys at Elwood Life Saving Club. 3 of us all had decided to call the swim off. Looking at the list on the beach as they grabbed our race numbers there was approx 20 people who also had pulled out, but under the rules you are allowed to run over to the swim exit and join back into the race. So I heading into T1 grabbed the bike and headed out. The first thing I noticed was the wind we all were riding straight into it for the first 1.5km then a side wind right up to the turn around and back again with a side wind and bit of tail wind until the last 1.5km then we had a full tail until we hit T2. Put my bike back and changed by bike shoes for runners and head out for a run. Again into a head wind but I managed to keep a 10.5km pace until the tune around which I then picked up speed to 11.5km on the way back to the finish line.
So what’s the plan? Will time to speed some time with John Van Wisse before the next Tri next year.
The results
Race Time 40:35.44
Overall Place 313
Catagory Place 32
Gender Place 190
Swim 10:20
T1 01:48
Bike 15:06
T2 01:51
Run 11:31
As for comparing to last week, well you can’t last week no wind this week lots of it.
BTW: Pics for both this weeks and last weeks Tri to come
A Nutrition Primer for the Day Before the Big Race...
WHAT CAN NUTRITION DO FOR YOU NOW????
(from the Seattle Marathon Association)
Night before the race:
(Some people may be sensitive to the sugar in sports and drinking them right before the race may leave them feeling hypoglycemic at the start. Unless you've tried drinking sports drinks before your training sessions, it may be best to stick to water at this point)
During the race:
(from the Seattle Marathon Association)
Night before the race:
- Choose higher carbohydrate foods. Typically, endurance athletes choose pasta but this could also include rice, potatoes, breads...OK to include moderate, low-fat protein.
- Avoid taking on the challenge of all-you-can eat pasta party
- Drink plenty of fluids (stick with non-caffeinated, non-alcoholic beverages!)
- If you tend to have a sensitive GI tract, avoid salads
- Choose something that you've had a chance to test out during your training and you know that you'll be able to tolerate while running/walking
- As a rule, stick to lower fat, higher carbohydrate foods... but watch those foods high in fiber (For me, this means a Power Bar, toast, or banana vs. the Grand Slam breakfast at Denny's)
- Hydrate: 8-16oz about 2 hours before the race.
(Some people may be sensitive to the sugar in sports and drinking them right before the race may leave them feeling hypoglycemic at the start. Unless you've tried drinking sports drinks before your training sessions, it may be best to stick to water at this point)
During the race:
- Hydrate: Drink 4-8 oz every 15-20 minutes
- Carbohydrates: Try to consume 100-300 calories/hour (or 60-90g carbohydrate/hour), ie, 1 packet of PowerGel or GU/hour or 4-6 cups Gatorade/hour (or a combination of gels and sports drink)
- Watch out for Gels and drinks that you've not tried before! If possible, it's best to stick with what you know!
- Consume carbohydrates within the first 20 minutes after the race (ie, fruits, juices, bagels, yogurt)
- As little as 6g protein consumed within 30 minutes of finishing will help stimulate muscle repair and synthesis (This is equivalent to the amount of protein in a carton of yogurt or a sports bar)
- Hydrate: You will need to drink 2 cups fluid/pound body weight that you lost during the event. It may take as long as 24-48 hours for you to rehydrate completely. Choose high carbohydrate drinks such as juices and sports drinks to help replenish your glycogen stores and electrolytes at the same time.
- Treat yourself to a NICE meal after you've had a chance to shower up and rest! Include plenty of complex carbs as well as some protein!
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Just registered for Active Feet Fun Tri
Just registered for Active Feet Fun Tri this Sunday (12th Dec) - one last hurrah (event) before the end of year. Should be fun and give me something to compare last weekend too.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Xosize Race 2 Race Report
Woke up a little before 4:30am this morning looked out the window, no windy not a cloud in the sky – great day for a tri. By the time I had something to eat to claim any nervous feelings, showered and got ready to go a early morning cloud/fog had set in.
When I got to the transition area got numbered and headed into transaction area and got setup. One thing I noticed the was very wet, as usual the atmosphere was light headed, relaxed and good nature. I went down to the swim start and jumped in and headed out for bit of a swim. The water was warm (water temp was around 19.6c mark) a little murky and fairly flat. Was very happy with swim practice had a chat with a few people doing practice swims and generally relaxed feeling.
During the race briefing we all heard that there we a few fins noticed out on the bay but we were told they we dolphins not sharks and that the race director had sent a boat out to check.
At 7:15am the horn sound and off we went. This time my swim was good and honest but being stuck in the middle of slower swimmers which is never fun. During the middle of the course you either hit your hand on sand or rocks at the bottom, yes the swim course was not in deep water, in places you could stand up and walk if you wanted too. (Quicker swimming) After getting out of the water I headed to T1 which was approx 500m run, got to my bike, off with the wet suit on with socks and bike shoes, grab the helmet and sunny glasses and then the bike and head out. Just as I started to mount another competitor cut me off and nearly caused me to crash as he did crash, lucky for me I didn’t crash.
We were warned during the race briefing that the turn around’s were tight but I found then to be ok. During the bike leg I saw no less than 3 people riding in wetsuits which I thought was a bit funny at the time but more on that later. Once I got back to T2 off with the bike shoes on with runners and out I went again. My legs felt very heavy and I want to give up and walk but I pushed on. At the turn around I grab some water and pushed on the run felt bad and slow but I finished in 35m04s.
After the event I was hanging around the finish shute and I run into 2 of the guys that had wetsuits during the bike leg. I spoke with both of them. 1 had forgot this running shorts and decided to do the event in a wetsuit and 2 was told no shirt no bike or run. Both of them looked stuffed 1 said as he was running he pulled the top of his wetsuit open and he could feel the heat rise up. Good on both of them for doing the event in a full wettie but you will NOT get me doing that.
After the event finished I was wondering through the event marquees and I run into Terry O'Halloran the Owner of Start to Finish, Runners World, and Running Fit. We had a good chat about Running Fit, Run Melbourne, Spring into Shape Race 3, Brazilian Butterfly Queen of the Lake, Sandy Half Point, Olympic Dream and where I came from into running and Triathlon’s Terry is a very down to earth comedian and all around nice bloke.
For the Record Olympic Dream was canceled due to lack of numbers. It requires a minimum of 3000 competitors for both City Link and City of Melbourne to close roads, etc. In addition last year not on Olympian competed in last year’s events, Terry said that the event will be replaced with a different type of event next year with a course that will be very similar to last year’s Olympic Dream. Can wait to see
Here are the times
Overall time 35:04.30
Overall Place 138
Swim 05:31.50 (took 50secs off)
T1 02:02.60 (took some 36secs off)
Bike 15:37.40 (hard to say was this wa sonly 8km instead of 10 which I did in 23:23.80 last time)
T2 1.25.80 (took 1 whole min off)
Run 10:27 (90 secs off)
Gender Place 92
Very happy over all. Photo’s to follow soon.
When I got to the transition area got numbered and headed into transaction area and got setup. One thing I noticed the was very wet, as usual the atmosphere was light headed, relaxed and good nature. I went down to the swim start and jumped in and headed out for bit of a swim. The water was warm (water temp was around 19.6c mark) a little murky and fairly flat. Was very happy with swim practice had a chat with a few people doing practice swims and generally relaxed feeling.
During the race briefing we all heard that there we a few fins noticed out on the bay but we were told they we dolphins not sharks and that the race director had sent a boat out to check.
At 7:15am the horn sound and off we went. This time my swim was good and honest but being stuck in the middle of slower swimmers which is never fun. During the middle of the course you either hit your hand on sand or rocks at the bottom, yes the swim course was not in deep water, in places you could stand up and walk if you wanted too. (Quicker swimming) After getting out of the water I headed to T1 which was approx 500m run, got to my bike, off with the wet suit on with socks and bike shoes, grab the helmet and sunny glasses and then the bike and head out. Just as I started to mount another competitor cut me off and nearly caused me to crash as he did crash, lucky for me I didn’t crash.
We were warned during the race briefing that the turn around’s were tight but I found then to be ok. During the bike leg I saw no less than 3 people riding in wetsuits which I thought was a bit funny at the time but more on that later. Once I got back to T2 off with the bike shoes on with runners and out I went again. My legs felt very heavy and I want to give up and walk but I pushed on. At the turn around I grab some water and pushed on the run felt bad and slow but I finished in 35m04s.
After the event I was hanging around the finish shute and I run into 2 of the guys that had wetsuits during the bike leg. I spoke with both of them. 1 had forgot this running shorts and decided to do the event in a wetsuit and 2 was told no shirt no bike or run. Both of them looked stuffed 1 said as he was running he pulled the top of his wetsuit open and he could feel the heat rise up. Good on both of them for doing the event in a full wettie but you will NOT get me doing that.
After the event finished I was wondering through the event marquees and I run into Terry O'Halloran the Owner of Start to Finish, Runners World, and Running Fit. We had a good chat about Running Fit, Run Melbourne, Spring into Shape Race 3, Brazilian Butterfly Queen of the Lake, Sandy Half Point, Olympic Dream and where I came from into running and Triathlon’s Terry is a very down to earth comedian and all around nice bloke.
For the Record Olympic Dream was canceled due to lack of numbers. It requires a minimum of 3000 competitors for both City Link and City of Melbourne to close roads, etc. In addition last year not on Olympian competed in last year’s events, Terry said that the event will be replaced with a different type of event next year with a course that will be very similar to last year’s Olympic Dream. Can wait to see
Here are the times
Overall time 35:04.30
Overall Place 138
Swim 05:31.50 (took 50secs off)
T1 02:02.60 (took some 36secs off)
Bike 15:37.40 (hard to say was this wa sonly 8km instead of 10 which I did in 23:23.80 last time)
T2 1.25.80 (took 1 whole min off)
Run 10:27 (90 secs off)
Gender Place 92
Very happy over all. Photo’s to follow soon.
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