Cuttin the mustard?: Hawaii Ironman race week - - pro sightings, parad...

Cuttin the mustard?: Hawaii Ironman race week - - pro sightings, parad...: Yesterday Joey, Pete Trav and myself went for a drive yesterday to scope the bike course. The endless slick black tarmac is the first thing ...

Hawaii Ironman race week - - pro sightings, parade of nations and the awesome course

Yesterday Joey, Pete Trav and myself went for a drive yesterday to scope the bike course. The endless slick black tarmac is the first thing that strikes you. The roads are pretty slick and fast for the most part. That's a relief as everything on QueenK is BIG. big rolling hills, big winds, big cuttings and big amounts of black, hot lava.

This was our recon drive, the first time that Jo had seen the bike course. The wind would of changed direction 6-7times during the drive. seems like if you don't like the wind direction, wait 15min and it will change! The winds are gusty and depending on the terrain, can blow from 10mph to 60mph. We jumped out of the car near hawi (the turnaround) and took a couple of shots, and the wind was 42mph, from the side and gusting. Think this was where the reality hit home, there are ironman courses, then there is the Hawaii Ironman course, and its elements. A whole different ball game.

Later in the day we had the parade of nations, where the athletes are grouped into their nationalities and walk as one under their flag. The yanks seem to love us, and we got lots of cheers and support along the route, with rev ups from dudes on loud speakers. Bumped into Brad Bullock, Billy Sinclair, Belinda Seccombe, Snowy Johnson amongst many other Aussies.
The parade finished at the expo, which had just opened, lots of stalls and bike porn to drool over. Kestrel, Cervelo, Ceepo, Felt, all the brands were there, and some mean machines with awesome paint jobs.
KSwiss had some thumping dance music with a DJ, their stands were very popular and the gear looked great.

OK, onto pro sightings. Terenzo Bozzone is out, in a boot after surgery, Crowie looked very cut, saw Faris in something other than DT's! the swiss miss Natascha Badman was looking fit. Macca was at the Specialised expo, and drinking beer and introing the current stars of specialised
But my best was Chris Lieto, just prior to my massage today, got a great pic with him in his full cycling gear and Trek bike. awesome. The pro dudes have all been very nice and accommodating.

Onto today, did my last ride, felt great, especially on the climbs, which is a good sign.
Then Kristy, Jo and myself registered at the race office. Jo and i actually registered next to Faris al Sultan, another happy snap! this is not my normal thing, but i have taken the attitude into this Hawaii that i am going to soak up the experience that is Kona. Awesome.

Ok time to put the feet up, check in shortly!

Foz

  

Cuttin the mustard?: Hawaii ironman race week - swimming the course

Cuttin the mustard?: Hawaii ironman race week - swimming the course: It was swim the course day today. we all met at DigMe Beach, the race start, as KK Lynds and me arrived, we were inundated with free goggles...

Hawaii ironman race week - swimming the course

It was swim the course day today. we all met at DigMe Beach, the race start, as KK Lynds and me arrived, we were inundated with free goggles from TYR, Biestmilch free cap and tee offers, awesome! love the freebies.

Got in the water, and swam to the second to last Buoy, all the while being horribly distracted by the fish and the coral the whole way along. And some of the best athletes in the world cruising by in clear turquoise water

Half way along we swam past the coffee's of Hawaii man made island. This is where you can swim to the island have some great coffee under umbrellas on a small floating island on the swim course!

Joey and Pete got some great shots and video of the session, so stay tuned for those. This was our last BIG swim prior to race day, so included some 75sec efforts, and drafting sighting practise.

Bumped into an old mate from Melbourne, James Kimberley who i used to coach, an Englishman who now lives in Germany. James qualified with a lazy 8:58hr in Regensburg, but they are all fast in hawaii!

Following the swim we went to Lava Java for breakfast, the place to be seen for coffee drinking in Hawaii on Ali'i Drive. Got some pics with Norman Stadler, saw Leanda Cave, and many many other HOT athletes.

Awesome set and post session breaky. Will check in tomorrow with more goss.

Sean

Cuttin the mustard?: Walking the walk

Cuttin the mustard?: Walking the walk: Nothing gives you a new found perspective for the training you set like following your own ironman specific program for 20weeks through wint...

Walking the walk

Nothing gives you a new found perspective for the training you set like following your own ironman specific program for 20weeks through winter.

Since 2004, you could say I have very loosely followed a plan when I have trained for events, but not a full training program like the one I have followed for Hawaii.

Years of program formulation as a coach can dull the realization of what it actually takes physically and mentally to follow a set program, all the while trying to live life too.

Experiencing one of my own age group level Ironman programs 8 years on from my last Hawaii prep at 41years of age has given me a new respect for the athletes I coach and the effort it takes to follow the program. Constant muscle soreness, being time poor, and asking those near and dear to accommodate you during this time is tough!

I must chime in and mention that my beautiful partner Lyndsey has been so supportive and understanding over the last few months, as I know I haven’t always been the easiest to live with.

As a coach I have advised all kinds of athletes over the years when they felt flat, injured or just needed perspective with their training. But even with this experience behind me, it hasn’t always been easy to see sense when the shoe on the other foot. Having perspective to understand why i didn’t perform well at this or that session when I’m training my ass off isn’t easy, and this exercise has reminded me of this.

Case in point, Yeppoon 70.3 recently, not the best performance I have ever had in a half Ironman. I can easily explain away why this was the case, but it still leaves a slightly off taste in my mouth.

Getting older

My current read has been Chris McCormack’s new book, ‘I’m Here to WIN’. Chris touches on how he changed his preparation for racing to accommodate his advancing age. Now that’s I am preparing for Hawaii, aged 41, I have had to do the same.

There have been a number of adjustments I have had to make. I just can’t do the training volume and quality and adapt as quickly as I once used to.

I have had to rely more on massage and stretching to assist me to get up for the next session if I wanted to adapt fully.

I can’t just bullock thru anymore, my body needs that extra assistance to help with recovery. It has been a great lesson to learn first-hand about prehab and how my body reacts. I am not age 30 anymore, and I have had to change my approach accordingly.

Also being a little time poor now, I’ve had to find ways to adjust sessions so I can still do them, but in the confines of a stacked schedule. For example doing split runs to save time but also better aide in recovery whilst maintaining mileage 

I am now near the end of the prep, in Airlie Beach, northern Queensland with KK and Joey on a heat acclimatization camp.

The first few days were quite tough. I have never been great in the heat, and have had aching muscles and feeling a bit drained. I’m thinking my god why do I feel this way under 3weeks out from the biggest day in the sport. Of course I know, but at times it is hard to see it when you are not looking from the outside.

Even up here, when a session doesn’t go super, the apartment can fall a little quiet.

But that’s the brilliant thing about experiencing Hawaii again, this time as an athlete with Kristy and Jo. We can bounce things off each other and provide some perspective.

We have 5days left at Airlie. Pete (thighs of justice) has arrived for some time up here with Jo.

The tan is getting better with each day, aiming to have a good base so I won’t get too burnt come race day. I think this will be a great few final days leading into the Hawaii trip.

I actually was sitting on the couch, and mentioned to Jo today that this time next week we would be heading to Kona. She suddenly felt sick to the tummy. Haha, those sudden realisations! Yes we are going to Kona, we have trained as well as we can given our circumstances, and are ready to race.

So whatever happens, we will soak up the experience of the big Island, and all that comes with the race.

I will send out a final pre-race blog once we hit Kailua Kona, and give you the goss of the undie run, the expo with all its gear, and of course the pro watching, and whose looking primed for a top day on October 8th.

Id finally like to thank my coaches Ben Street and Steve Davis for picking up any slack during this time and the team of athletes at Fluid Movements and the Melb Tri Club for supporting me as I have trained over the last few months.

I am very much looking forward to implementing some of the new stuff we did on the Hawaii program, and bringing the experience gained to the way we coach going forward.

Foz  

Cuttin the mustard?: Hawaii Ironman - Preparing to Hurt, Hawaii Style

Cuttin the mustard?: Hawaii Ironman - Preparing to Hurt, Hawaii Style: "Howdy, been a while since the last blog, good signs I have been doing more training and less talking! With 12weeks to race day, I have ramp..."

Hawaii Ironman - Preparing to Hurt, Hawaii Style

Howdy, been a while since the last blog, good signs I have been doing more training and less talking!

With 12weeks to race day, I have ramped up the duration and intensity over the last few weeks. Memories of the work put into Hawaii campaigns past, and the imminent month of October closing fast has me training consistently harder and longer.

The best Ironmen and women who qualified top of the class at Ironman’s worldwide will be there. The age group ranks run very deep, and most have come to RACE the Hawaii Ironman, not just complete it, as is the case in most other events!

My age group (40-44) is always one of the strongest, filled by lads with loads of strength endurance, and also a number of ex pros coming back after a hiatus from family commitments etc. I expect that the winner in my category will go sub 9:00hrs.

Looking back on my 2experiences of racing Hawaii, they couldn’t be more different.

I’ve seen the best and worst that Hawaii can throw our way, which helps me prepare for all eventualities.

I had a solid race in my first on a pretty temperate day, no big moments, it was relatively calm, and it clouded over for the run, a dream day really, swam well, rode well, and ran well.

The second time though was a different matter, with the trade winds howling, it was a massive battle all day. I remember resorting to laughing when I wasn’t hanging on for grim death in the gusty side winds on the return to Kona. With 20k to go on the bike and I felt like I was going at 20km/h, the winds were so strong and gusty. I jumped off the bike, but my back was toast, as I had chosen to hold on in the aero position against the wind, vs. sitting up like a lot of the other pro’s did. I hung on for a very slow run. When I finished, I think I swore never to put myself through that again, it wasn’t fun, it just hurt.

Let’s just say that a cushy qualifier in New Zealand and a Hawaii Ironman when it’s kicking are worlds apart. I actually do worry sometimes for the guys that qualify at a race like Busso when they have never done Hawaii before, dead pan flat, then going to Hawaii with the rollers and the weather.

My body over the past 6weeks has been procrastinating quite a bit, with niggling strains slowing my progress as I tried to ramp up the training. But I am not 29yrs anymore, so it’s something I just have to factor in, and be better with my prehab. Finally though, it looks like its back in the groove I’ve and hopefully sorted it all out and am ready to train like I should with no further issues.

Right now it’s all about readying the body to hurt for 9:00hrs. Being not blessed with lots of speed or power, I have to rely on my aerobic fitness and leg strength. In other words I have to bullet proof the body to handle the course and the wild weather that the Big Island can throw at us.

I am going into the hardest phase of my training, with 2 to 3 key sessions a week of aerobic threshold training for bike and run, the sustained chewing nails style intensity sessions. These are not fun, and before the set I can get quite antsy as I know how much I will push myself and how much it will hurt. I couple this with some aerobic power fartlek training, to get the zip in the legs to handle the rollers on course on the Queen K. The Tan Track and Kew Boulevard are the perfect training grounds for the rollers of Hawaii, so getting to know them quite well....AGAIN!   

Our team also had a pleasant surprise too a few weeks ago. Another one of my athletes qualifying for Hawaii, with Jo Coombe ripping her race at Ironman France, with a 1:18hr pb. I am not often surprised by an athlete’s performance, but Jo had one out of the box, but it was no fluke. Jo trained the house down; her commitment to the task over a long prep was what made her fly on race day.

This was a real fillip for me as a coach and athlete 4months out from Hawaii.

It reminded me that anything is possible if you set your mind to it.

Kristy and I have Yeppoon in 4weeks, it will be a good hit out for us.

Then will come some acclimatization in Northern Australia to get used to the heat that we will see in Kona.

Anyway back to training

Foz and (Kristy and Joey)

Cuttin the mustard?: After the excitement dies down

Cuttin the mustard?: After the excitement dies down: "Its been some time since the initial excitement of taking my spot for Kona and its 17weeks and change before the big day in Hawaii. Winter h..."

After the excitement dies down

Its been some time since the initial excitement of taking my spot for Kona and its 17weeks and change before the big day in Hawaii. Winter has hit Melbourne Australia with the month of May just gone being the coldest May for many years. Sub 5degree mornings, and the days getting darker earlier, and its still 9weeks before my first real hit out at Yeppoon 70.3.

This is the time of year when motivation needs to come from within, and nothing motivates more than the World Championships of Ironman in Kona. The distant memories of Hawaii preps past training in the wet of Winter, when most others have taken the foot off the pedal and are doing easier base work is now a reality again 8years later. 

The last time i was in this position was in 2003 when I had qualified for the Big Show for a third time, this time as a Professional at Forster-Tuncurry, Ironman OZ.  I had a great marathon run of 2:55hrs off the bike and a top ten finish overall, but i never made it to the start line at Hawaii that year.

I had done a very hard block of training under the guidance of my old coach, but unfortunately succumbed to a stress fracture in a small bone in my foot 10weeks from raceday. A subsequent 8weeks rehab in a Cam Boot and my dream of a 3rd Hawaii finish was over, having raced there in 99 and 01.

I was shattered as it was a classic case of overtraining and pushing too hard. Just prior to the injury, i was flying, but my body just broke from the strain. Unfortunately the plan i was following was going to either make me or break me, and it ended in the latter. So its been a long time between drinks to get this opportunity again nearly a decade later, after declining Hawaii spots due to a lack of time and will to prepare.

Back to the current prep, over the last few weeks i have set myself some long sustained efforts at ever increasing uncomfortable intensities, and being a coach means most of these sessions are done solo.

I'm having to do them at unusual times of the day when no one else is training, with some of my easier runs done with my faithful training buddy, Bill the Dog.

This i don't really mind as race day motivation has to come from within, so its good mental conditioning to harden me up, and my strength is my strength so these sessions play to that.

I do tend to be able to push myself harder when hurting solo anyway, and not having to be concerned with what anyone else is doing.

Looking forward, it will be some time before my Hawaii buddy Kristy and i can hit the sun of Yeppoon in August. Following this we will have some acclimatisation time closer to race day in September, but that is something to work and look forward to.

In the meantime, its about slowly turning up the wick, completing the sessions and chipping away. I may do some duathlons and runs around Melbourne, but mainly am looking forward to smashing myself in the sun of Yeppoon, far north Queensland during acclimatisation, and then in Hawaii.

Chat soon

Foz

Cuttin the mustard?: Hill training, no where to hide

Cuttin the mustard?: Hill training, no where to hide: "Just back from a great weekends training in Bright with my Hawaii , France and Cairns training buddies. I suspected I would be given some..."

Hill training, no where to hide

Just back from a great weekends training in Bright with my Hawaii, France and Cairns training buddies.

I suspected I would be given some strong indications of where my form is at 21weeks out from Hawaii over this weekend, and I wasn’t disappointed. That and taking myself out of my normal environment to get some training done was a great move.                 

Its like breaking a cycle and starting with a clean slate. I had new courses and awesome scenery and some very motivated athletes on camp with me.                                        

With a long 160km ride including 2800m of vertical ascent scheduled for Saturday, I revisited a DVD favourite, the Lance’s Road to Paris video, where he rides as a lonely silhouette up a snow blanketed climb in preparation for the 2001 TDF. That’s what it takes to win the tour, says Johan Brunyneel (US Postal team manager) as Lance rides back down to do another 10km repeat. That stuff is Gold, the night before you do a big solid ride. 

Saturday morning arrived with favorable partly cloudy weather, and bitter cold. The early climb over Tawonga Gap caused no problems on fresh legs, and felt pretty confident as I headed to Mt Beauty.

Once there, I proceeded to climb 13k towards Falls Creek and was feeling great. There were the high peaks of Falls Creek looming up above, it was majestic climbing scenery. Back through Mt Beauty and back over Tawonga Gap, the climb is actually steeper coming from this side, but I felt better as I was nice and warmed up.

This day will be a piece of cake I thought, I’m back!

Hit Bright on the way back, fuelled up in town, confident to tackle the 22k Mt Buffalo climb to the chalet. I knew in the back of my mind that the test really hadn’t started, the sustained nature of this climb would be tougher up Buffalo.

As we started this ascent, I rode away from my mates but I was in my lowest gear very early in the climb. I admit I was slightly under geared with my equipment, but should have been feeling better at this early point of the 22k climb.

As I progressed it got inordinately harder, and I started as always to do a self check to see work out why I was struggling, was it I was under hydrated, or underdone with carbs.

With that in mind, I stopped and refilled up my bidon at a natural stream, and kept on going. I don’t often have these moments at struggle town like this, so when I have moment, I can have a moment!

I restarted with a full bidon, but from this point I was really started to struggle with some distant thoughts of not making it to the top. The nose was running like a tap, and my cadence was quite slow as I lurched from pedal stroke to pedal stroke. Funnily enough I was thinking about all those sprinters in the tour who suffer over the mountains in the group known as the AutoBus. They aren’t climbers, they suffer but they get over the high peaks and DO IT!

I stopped and took on a gel just to be topped up with fuel, and as I did my training buddy Kristy came past, smiling, she always smiles you know.

My negative thoughts suddenly vanish. If Kristy can smile as she rides past, then I have to keep going.

As I rode on, the realization hit me that I was simply are out of condition, no 2buts about it. Ah, the big hill dishes out another bitter truthful lesson, but its something that I needed to learn.

Getting moving again and snow started to appear on the side of the road! I became fixated in watching it as it became more and more the higher i climbed, anything to take the focus away from the climb. Vapour was also punctuating my shallow breathes,  strangely keeping me entertained as I pushed onward. I was as much trying to pass a mental vs. a physical test, and that seemed to steel my resolve, that and knowing Kristy was ahead. What doesn’t break you can only make you stronger!.

Finally after what felt like an eternity of climbing, the road up ahead seemed to crest and I started to go slightly downhill, thank God. After a long climb, finally some respite, and we rode on a couple more kms to the chalet and pitted for a rest, and to wait for Jo.

What a great lesson in so many ways, climbing Mt Buffalo for the first time, a real reality check. The 30k of so back to Bright was a lot easier, and went flying by.

We had a great rest of the weekend, with a run off the bike upon getting back which I felt awesome in, and then a great long run on the Sunday morning.

The Bright camp was a well worthwhile experience.

It’s hard to get a truthful gauge on your progress when you train on smaller climbs, or sucking a wheel on

Beach Rd.

Climbs and riding like that tell you no lies, but only simply truths about yourself. If you can pass the test when it gets tough mentally, I feel it steels your resolve, it did for me.

I have come back to Melbourne with a lot more motivation and drive to hit this campaign for Hawaii Ironman 2011 hard with some great experiences on the weekend whilst taking in some beautiful scenery.

I cannot wait to do it again sometime.

Foz

Cuttin the mustard?: Time to muzzle ‘the BLACK DOG’

Cuttin the mustard?: Time to muzzle ‘the BLACK DOG’: "‘The only tragedy when you fall down is if you don’t get straight back up.’ I find for myself that it’s positive to recognize the mental sid..."

Time to muzzle ‘the BLACK DOG’

‘The only tragedy when you fall down is if you don’t get straight back up.’

I find for myself that it’s positive to recognize the mental side of this sport from time to time. What’s not fine though for me is to let it be consuming and give into it for any extended period. I am always going to have low points and high points. The art from this point on is to have consistently more highs than lows.

Baking the cake

Alright, so I was described as an onion recently. Not the first time, not the last I’m sure, but aren’t we all onions, just some recognise this more than others?

The layers of my onion are like ingredients that go into a cake. Shit we all have so called less desirable ingredients like sugar in our own human recipe, just don’t need too much of it!

I’m sitting here and looking at all my ingredients, training, work, rest, social etc. I have my weeks, now how much of each goes into a typical week for the final 23weeks.

I know what I have to do training wise to get my desired result. Refer back to Keep it Simple blog…. This swim set, this bike and this run set will get me fast and strong in each phase of the program. So add them, and factor in the desired recovery timeframe, DONE. I know my body well enough to plan that easily enough.

Next, need to fit in all the rest of the ingredients of life, in sensible doses, so my training isn’t compromised, whatever the level I decided on. That is a work in progress, but not over committing to one seems the most sensible approach. As I always bang on to the team athletes, better to under commit, and over deliver

Righteo, I standing on my 4 balanced pillars being sport, work, rest and social, seems steady enough… Will re check in a third of the way through the cooking process, hate for the cake to flop again!!!    

Reinforcing the all good factor

Oh the wildcard, confidence in my ability. OK, don’t get me wrong, I can be a cocky shit at times, and generally with training I’m referring to here…

Not being in my sensible routine has meant that I haven’t had a hard set to hang the hat on recently. Nice to be able to remind oneself that you still got the old form!

But last Thursdays ride with my Kona training buddy Kristy, and the solid run on the weekend has got the confidence back, just needed the reminder that my legs hadn’t succumbed to old age just yet! I am feeling much better now.

Looking forward

Now some intermediate goals to help with the motivation.

There is no use looking to 23weeks away and Hawaii, that won’t help me or push me to start in earnest. Some short term goals with my training and racing I reckon is the way to go.

So might enter a few solid cross country runs for strength training over the next couple of months, plus the odd multisport duathlon to feel the burn off the bike.

The Yeppoon 70.3 is also only 15weeks away.

Racing like many things for me is a habit, and I work best when I’m being habitual, as I tend to need my fix in regular succession. Nothing preps me for a race, like another race.

Ok, that’s a better outlook, I would have hated to give you the impression that my world was falling in. The black dog will always be there, I’m cool with that, but now he’s the size of a small puppy instead of giant Rottweiler

Foz

Cuttin the mustard?: Drowning.. not waving

Cuttin the mustard?: Drowning.. not waving: "Ok, I am locked into the biggest and ‘badest’ Ironman race of them all in 5months, the Hawaii Ironman. I should be super motivated all the t..."

Drowning.. not waving

Ok, I am locked into the biggest and ‘badest’ Ironman race of them all in 5months, the Hawaii Ironman. I should be super motivated all the time…right…..jumping out of bed, doing every session and then some, whilst smiling and making it look easy.

Well, that just isn’t me right now. I just fell over the line at New Zealand, and haven’t really picked myself up yet. On the outside, the race looked easy enough, but it was a real battle, and the battle just got more challenging. Yes I am s.t..ruggling, mentally and physically.

I suppose I shouldn’t be putting this out there for public consumption. Heck I coach a big squad of super athletes, and back in the day I used to be hard as nails….supposedly. I should be playing the role of the perfect example of how things should be done when it comes to training. No, nothing to see here… just yet

Being a slave

This game is so mental, and so much about reinforcing good training and lifestyle habits. The big road block with this is the downside to the upside?? being a slave to habits and routine is that you can slip either way, the wrong or the right side of OK.

At present HMAS Foz is locked on the wrong tact with training frequency and application. My head is wrapped in cotton wool, and driven mostly by finding comfort in overindulging in all things… NOT GOOD.

To defer back to the nautical theme, I’m looking at the sand, instead of the sky, and hoping I can right myself before the next big wave!

The tipping point

There is a tipping point where there isn’t a choice for me. My old motto once was…’Your best weapon is preparation’.

The more prepared I was, the more confident I became.

The tipping point of the ideal time frame for good preparation is fast approaching with around 23weeks to go the big show. I’ve been there before and its scary if you haven’t brought you’re A.Game  

To quote Dave Chappelle….Time to ‘Keep it Real!’ Attending 2 goal driven seminars in 3days in my duties as a coach has been a good reality check. The question of what drives you to reach your goals came up in discussion

I can come up with all the right things to say to you at the point, but I wouldn’t be honest if at this time the word fear didn’t come into the equation. 

Time to shut up? and find a way to right this ship and get back on tact.

Time to remember why I do this, and what it feels like to reach a challenging goal.

No it aint all peaches and cream, I am not going to lie to you just coz in my position I should be seen to be doing all the right things.
Frankly, things don’t always come easy for me. Most of time it’s a battle, a battle mostly fought in my own mind. 

Finding a way to replace the cotton wool with concrete is now high on my list of goals.

Sorry for my introverted, absorbed little rant. Quite selfish really, but without breaking it back to the bare bones, I can’t rebuild a solid foundation to spring off on.

Hoping for fairer seas and smoother sailing ahead.  

Foz

Cuttin the mustard?: Keeping it Simple!!!

Cuttin the mustard?: Keeping it Simple!!!: "It’s been great to dip the toe back into the training pool again in preparation for Hawaii! First time I have coached myself in a long time...."

Keeping it Simple!!!

It’s been great to dip the toe back into the training pool again in preparation for Hawaii! First time I have coached myself in a long time. Don’t like myself already, and talking to myself a lot, which can be embarrassing.

I’ve had to go back to the drawing board, and work out what things I need to work onto get the best result. What are my strengths and weaknesses are, my time availability to train each week, the training period duration, and what environment best motivates me to train.

This is quite cathartic to be honest. I have had to cut out the bullshit, not spending time (training wise) doing things that won’t help me reach my goal. This process has also re opened my eyes to what a pro level training program really should consist of!

Its common sense really… keep.it.simple.!

Had to assess my ability in the endurance, speed, and strength endurance training zones.

I know I’m strong and have bucket loads of endurance, but definitely not powerful, especially top end neural power. The screening with the awesome Rosie Mc showed me that. So what to do? Please refer to my Hawaii program mantra…… ‘No Compromises’

No power eh? So do sets that increase power and my ability to change pace. One big hill ride session midweek. Same set every Thursday for 6weeks in a row. Yep, aint looking to be entertained by the training, just to get better by doing it!

Note, this is something I don’t always do with the age groupers as it needs to be fun too. I’m not doing Hawaii for the fun of it, its tough, and if you go in underprepared, you will be found out, and the pain will just last longer. I’m hoping to see the joy in it once I’m smashing it along the Queen K at 40clicks plus!....Hopefully

Finally a big thanks is in order to my training buddy KK. Last Saturday I could of easily wimped out and just ridden back from Kinglake the short way with the others, instead of via Chrissy Hills. But I didn’t coz KK was there. I didn’t even ask her about this option, coz I knew the easy way wouldn’t be an option for her.

Rock on, no compromises!

Leave you with this one – The will to succeed is only as strong as the will to prepare.

Train Smart, Train hard, but most of all, have fun going really really fast!

Fozlington

Cuttin the mustard?: Hawaii Ironman Training week 1/2

Cuttin the mustard?: Hawaii Ironman Training week 1/2: "Well week 1 and 2 are just about done of Hawaii transition phase 2011. I’m rating my performance to date at 6 out of 10!!! This is the firs..."

Hawaii Ironman Training week 1/2

Well week 1 and 2 are just about done of Hawaii transition phase 2011. I’m rating my performance to date at 6 out of 10!!!

This is the first time in 8years that I have followed some sort of training program. The last time was in 2003 when I last qualified for Hawaii! Geez, what does this mean, I have to be organised?!....
Been pretty inconsistent so far, except for the sessions I’ve done with my Hawaii training buddy KK and haven’t hit the water since New Zealand. Not exactly the best start but there’s plenty of time to correct that.

Bill my dog is tickle pink with the new setup though, been taking him out on easy runs with me. He runs fartlek whilst smelling bums and chasing me when I get out of eyesight!

The separation of work and training has gone great guns too, training quite separate to the squad schedule. So when coaching I can devote 100% of my time to my athletes, and when training, I can do the same time to my training.
I have found though that I get the best training ideas for work when I am out training myself. My training partner unfortunately is constantly being ear bashed with these as we ride… Sorry!!

The double edged sword of committing to racing Hawaii is that I get to try some new stuff on myself that I have yet to integrate into any athletes programs. Spose I can call it educated experimentation!
This will definitely be a win win. For me as an athlete and for my experience as a coach.

Enter barefoot jogging post Thursday strength ride being one of them. Far from being a training fad type coach, I have started doing some barefoot jogging for the first time. Slow jog just to strengthen the integrity of the lower leg and calf for the next phase of training. The three old Italian Bocce fellas who share grass oval space at Studley park with me every Thursday think I am a bit crazy though. They smile politely, but quite possibly think otherwise as I run past every few minutes.

Bonus too is I get to train with people that until now I have respected from afar. Case in point, the star Bev Thomas, who KK and I bumped into Saturday. Bev joined us for our last power ride to the Dandys

Finally, I am bummed to hear the great man Lance Armstrong has pulled the pin on Hawaii 2011. I would have loved to race against the great man this year

Anyway, better stop taking and work on getting a little more consistent.

Happy training.

Foz

Ironman New Zealand - the qualifier

I had just recently clicked over to the 40-44age group. I felt a very very long way from the peak of my racing powers. I hadn’t finished an Ironman in 2years, and most of the guys that I coach only have a recent memory of me DNFíng in my last Ironman, which I was copping shit for.

My recent racing history had included an active feet baby tri at Port Arlington and a XOSize team event where I flatted with 10k to go…. This could be a disaster…

The Race

I took a walk by Lake Taupo the night before the race to attempt to settle the inner demons. My distinct lack of confidence belied the fact that this would be my 17^th finish if all went to plan. My state of mind seemed intrinsically linked to the short prep I had done, due to troubles with Osteitis Pubis for most of 2010.

I did know I had the ability to hurt like no one else, I had confidence in that, but the for how long it would take was the million dollar question

Race Day

The weather was average. It was windy and poured with rain, but for those that know me, that was what I was hoping for. ; )

I was banking on being as smart as I could for this race. My hope was I could put to good use some of the race tips that I regularly spewed out to the athletes I coached.

Swim

**Error one, going to the start line too early for the swim, and not doing my accels and keeping my shoulders warm… Not a good start!! OK, lets redeem yourself FOZ. Get a good start, then think about keeping the right arm over the barrel all the way, if I do that I usually swim ok.

Had a solid swim, was hoping for 53mins and came out in 52:33. No dramas after an initial rough start, and got out on the bike safe and sound after that long run to T1.

Bike

Ok, my creedo for the bike was to attack early, and attack hard.  After that, hold a solid rhythm, stay away from packs, or be on the front of them, and keep my cadence up!

I hit the bike hard, dragging a group up the first hill out of town. Of course when I got to the top, a few accelerated hard off me.

I knew that I had to keep in touch with them, this was a crucial part of the ride!

I did, and once a few of them popped from the initial effort, I passed them and settled into my solid rhythm for the race.

I felt surprisingly good, and stuck mostly to my pace and maintained a good cadence. Shit, I even put a speedo on so I could keep an eye on my pacing. Yes don’t faint people, this is unusual for me!

I usually go by feel, but I was glad that I had the computer, and I was smiling as most of the time the speedo was well above 40km/hr

I had a surprisingly good bike, finishing with a split of 5hrs. I was hoping for anything sub 5:10, as I hadn’t felt good on the bike in the lead up. I ended up sitting on the front of a group of around 7riders for around 150k of the ride. With 45k to go I managed to get away, with only 2 coming with. I arrived in T2 leading my age group and top 3 age grouper.

Run

Onto the run, and once again it was a matter of take it out hard and hanging on. All that ran through my mind in the early stages was keep the nutrition and my stride cadence up and relax the shoulders. I had to find anyway to save energy, as I was a bit underdone, and I knew the run would bring this out.

As it happens I ran strongly to 25kms, averaging just over 4:30min k’s, and was in 2^nd spot in my age. The plan was working!!!

From there though, I lost a lot of condition in my quads and it felt like I was running on egg shells down the hills.  

I was worried enough from 25k on that I told myself that I had to run 90strides hard, then 60 strides easy. I was scared I was slacking off!

I also resorted to counting calves all the way through the final lap when anyone ran past me, hoping they weren’t in my age group. Not until that point did the possibility of reaching my goal of racing Hawaii again come into my head.

Finally with about 10k to go I could switch from thinking I hope I make it to Hawaii, to hope I make it to the podium, maybe second was on the cards.

The Chute

Not knowing what time I was doing, it was like a ‘chicken surprise’ moment running down the finish chute. To my surprise the clock glowed 9:18, only 3mins slower than my goal time. A sense of relief washed over me, as I crossed the line. I had given all I could and I was shattered; the quads were like glass and I struggled to get to the massage tent.

Immediately, my mind switched to ok, I am going back to Hawaii.

Evidently I had forgotten how much it had hurt in 2001!

Big thanks to all the awesome supporters out there and the volunteers on race day in such average conditions

Foz

Cuttin the mustard?

My name is Sean 'fozzy' Foster

I’m 40years old and been a coach since 1995, and a has been triathlete.

I run a team in Melbourne called Fluid Movements Sports and have been the Melbourne Tri Club head coach for 7years.

I’ve raced to World Champs Olympic standard in 1998, and age semi-pro level ironman till 2003. In recent history, a lot of water under the bridge had a lot of time off regular training to develop myself as a triathlon coach.

I’ve earmarked 2011 as the year where I will attempt to go back to the Hawaii Ironman, having completed it twice before in 99 and 01 and qualified in 03 as a pro, but DNS due to injury.

Its time to put my coaching experience to the sword and see what I can do.

This blog is about trying to coach myself, work full time, and juggle getting older and fatter all at the same time. Hope this is entertaining and even maybe informative.

Stay tuned !!

Foz