The Big 5

When I used to hear ‘The Big 5’ I immediately thought of five of Africa’s greatest & most dangerous wild animals!

In future when I hear ‘The Big 5’ I will think of five of Knysna’s sporting events. None of these sporting events are overly challenging and none may qualify for ‘great’ status when done in isolation, but when they are all done within a week & combined into one competition, the Big 5 suddenly becomes a very challenging competition and one of the great events in South Africa.

Many travellers & tourists regard a visit to South Africa as incomplete without having spotted the Big Five and I would dare to suggest that if you are a South African sportsman wanting to call yourself a multi-sporter, your career would be incomplete without having tried a Big 5 Challenge, which comprises the following 5 events:
-80km Knysna MTB
-109km Knysna Road Bike (or a swim or canoe race)
-15km Featherbed Trail Run
-Totalsports XTerra
-Knysna Half or Full Marathon

I was fortunate to compete in the old “Voltaren Ultraman” a couple of Decades ago, but was the supporting cast to former Comrades winner & Ultraman Champion Nick Bester in 1990 and 1991, so had an idea what I was letting myself into.

Farmer Glen (Haw), Nick Bester and I renewing rivalries & making the Podium for the XTerra

The Knysna Big 5, spread over 8 days was a daunting challenge, especially as it takes place in the middle of winter and somebody like me is only just beginning to dust off the cobwebs, after a couple of months recovery from Ironman. I rolled into Knysna, not with a 6 pack like the major contenders, but with about 6 kilos too many and when combined with my limited MTB skills, I knew I was in for a very tough week.

Day 1 dawned (80km MTB) and it was icy cold, even with an 8am start and I set off intent on pacing myself, not taking too many risks and enjoying the scenery. I cruised in just under 5 hours and was a little shocked to find I was 2 hours off the winner of the MTB event, but I tried to re assure myself that I was here to train and this was my Boot Camp.

Day 2 dawned (109k Road) and again it was pretty cold and I know the importance of sticking with a bunch, so was intent on sucking as much wheel as possible. Guess I made a Primary School error, as I didn’t recce the course profile before hand and maybe it’s my imagination, but I don’t think I’ve ridden as many hills in so short a ride before. I was going quite well, but blew (lack of bike fitness) about 20km from the end and lost a few valuable minutes.

For the first time I looked at the leader board and discovered I had placed 69th and 9th Master in the MTB ride (eish) and had improved to 5th Master after the road bike. My thoughts starting teasing me, suggesting the 50+ Podium was a possibility…..so much for training & boot camp!

Renewing friendships with Raynard Tissink at the Featherbed Trail

Day 3 and I was in the mid day slot for the Featherbed Trail. Talk about tough, well this was a tough first 4-5km and I recall seeing a sign “Stairway to Heaven”, but that km took me 8 minutes + and it felt more like Hell. My legs were shattered from the two tough bike rides and I was also lugging half a bag of cement in surplus weight up those climbs which added to the searing pain. Received some support from fellow competitor David Black and I tried to pace off him over the 2nd half of the course and over the railway lines. A heck of an effort to make marginal gains on new Masters leader Farmer Glen (Haw), of Sani 2 C , who who showed good running skills to add to his exceptional MTB skills!

Jamie at X Terra

The next morning I could hardly get out of bed to go watch Jamie do his first Xterra and also got sucked into doing the Puma Nightcat Dash. I was invited to join the Celebrity Race and race alongisde Nick Bester, Arnold Geerdts, Raynard Tissink, Dave Bellairs & Altus Schreuder but it was straight uphill, turn around and down. It was fun making up the field and somebody had to come last, but when the cramps attacked me that night I wished I hadn’t lined up.

Night Cat Dash

A highlight for our family was Camryn running in the ladies race (Nightcat Dash) and grabbing the second prize of R1,000 being encouraged & cheered on by Natalie Tissink, Caroline Wyatt & Alexa Cunningham who was shouting ‘shopping’ to my daughter every step of the way.

Camryn in X Terra Lite Relay

Day 4 was my first XTerra, which comprised a 3k trail run, a 25km MTB and a 7km Trail Run. I’ve always admired the XTerra guys, especially Conrad Stoltz, Dan Hugo & Stuart Marais so it was good to get a taste of what they do and now I can say I have even more respect as XTerra is tough. Was grateful I’d been taking my Muscle Milk after each race to aid recovery, so I was still able to push hard (with tree stumps for legs) chasing my good friend Nick Davidson around the course and catching Nick & Farmer Glen in the final km. My son Jamie had warned me that the bike course was tough, well now I know what he was trying to say!

Day 5 was the Half Marathon…. up bright and early, taxi ride into the Forest, huddle at the start line under a blanket (which would be donated to somebody in need), lots of chit chatter with friends & my training partners Mike, Liza, Martin & Craig for what seemed like eternity before the 8 am start. I was now up to 2nd in the Big 5 and hoping to challenge Farmer Glen for line honours for the ‘ballies’ race but even though I ran a reasonable 96 minutes, came up a little short. Glen, it was great to meet you and well done on a fine week of racing!

Stuart Marais with Jamie after the Laggon Swim

Well done to Stuart Marais on a great result and well done to a few of the EC guys Richard Laurie, Warren Dickson, Mike Cannon, Nick Davidson, Nick Chapman, Johan Botha, Johan Britz and Stephen Marais, it was great catching up and thanks for the encouragement along the way.

Relaxing with Michelle

To my best supporter Michelle, thanks for allowing the kids and I to pretend we were on holiday when we were actually at a training camp 🙂

Thanks to all the organisers and sponsors of the individual events, thanks to Mark Collins and Magnetic South organisers of the Big 5, as well as Greg Vogt from Knysna Tourism for the Oyster Festival, it was great fun and very well organised. Thanks to the Big 5 Challenge & Stillwater Sports for the XTerra After Party. Last, but by no means least a sincere thanks to Isuzu who have supported me over the past few years and I look forward to building to a great 2015!

Enjoy the View!

Final Thoughts for IMSA70.3

For those doing IMSA 70.3 I’ve been receiving numerous requests for info about what to pack/take, open water swim tips, the bike route, etc. I’ve put together a few links to my Blog with specific articles providing information on each, so feel free to take a read and share with your friends. Hope it helps!

Before you leave home work through a checklist (see below):

http://ironmansa.com/2014/01/14/ironman-70-3-checklist/

Here is a link to the 70.3 Bike Route:

https://ironmansadotcom.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=829&action=edit

Hopefully this piece on Tapering endorses what you’ve been up to (see below):

http://ironmansa.com/2013/01/07/tapering-for-ironman-or-ironman-70-3/

Open water swimming tips (see below):

http://ironmansa.com/2013/04/11/my-tips-for-open-water-swimming/

Wishing you all a great day and enjoy the Journey!

YES, you Can, you Will, you Want to!!

How to Achieve your Dreams!

                                                                               

Should it matter which season is almost upon us?

Instead of us putting off to next season what we could be getting started with this season, why not heed the words of Dawson Trotman and get started Today? Trotman said “The greatest time wasted is the time getting started!”

“The Greatest time wasted is the time getting started!”-Dawson Trotman

If I think back to when I was unfit and overweight, I felt more fatigued and more likely to waste my days in front of the TV, or spending time under the duvet. All very nice, if you want your life just to fly on by! I fell asleep at the wheel of life for 10 years and they were gone in the blink of an eye. I was a Heart Attack looking for a place to happen and I knew I had to change. Are you happy with your Life, in particular your Health and Fitness or are you seeking change?

Remember your Health is a Gift and there is no second chance should you abuse it. If your heart is disgruntled and attacks you, you may survive but the quality of your life will be compromised. Funny thing is many people work themselves to a standstill in pursuit of money and worldly treasures, compromising their family and their relationships but no amount of money in the world can repair your body if you abuse it by being idle and living an unhealthy lifestyle.

The height of insanity is doing the same things this year that we did last year, expecting a different result. Truth is if we do the same things this winter as we did last winter, we will actually have slipped a little more and entrenched our bad habits even more. Remember this, if you are not consciously focussed on developing good habits, then you will sub consciously be defaulting to bad habits.

So let us focus on what we can do… to change, to cultivate good habits, to reinvent ourselves? Firstly I will focus on the Why and then I will focus on the How!

The Why? Besides the fact that you will feel better, look better (and your friends will tell you so you before you properly notice the change) and have more energy, a key reason will be for your health.

Exercising, even just a little, will improve your health, but it can also go a long way in preventing the onset of several life-threatening conditions. Looking at a few of the benefits….

Your Heart
Exercising regularly will raise your heart rate AND very importantly reduces hardening of the arteries, which is a major cause of high blood pressure. High Blood Pressure can lead to heart disease and stroke. Exercising regularly lowers your resting heart rate which implies that more blood is being pumped per beat and now your heart won’t be working as hard as it once was. Exercising regularly also lowers and helps control your blood pressure.

Mental Health
Exercising regularly also reduces stress and anxiety. Some Medical studies show that exercising regularly decreases the likelihood that you will suffer from depression or insomnia and improves your overall quality of life. Looking better and feeling fitter boosts your self-esteem and confidence. It teaches you about good habits, motivation, setting goals and commitment, which can be transferred to other areas of your life, such as your career, your studies, your family and your relationships. I find exercising gives me time to plan and to think, enabling me to be more effective in the workplace, which also leads to a reduction in stress.

It gets a little worse before it gets a whole lot better!

More options
The fitter you are, the more options you have in life. How often have you turned down the option of doing something adventurous with your children or friends because you thought you may not be able to keep up? By exercising regularly it opens up new options and you are able to accept invitations or to take up challenges that you previously thought impossible. As you progress you will start new activities, which will lead to you meeting new people and exercising or playing sports with friends, or newly found friends, which helps transform your life.

It is highly recommended that healthy people build up to 30 minutes (or more) of moderate exercise three or four times per week. But remember to speak to your doctor before starting an exercise programme. Hopefully the above is sufficient reason to want to know how, so let’s consider a few tips.

The How? Before we move on to the How, I would like to encourage you to find a quiet place for half an hour, be it the Beach, under a Tree, away from traffic, people, amongst nature. Then allow your mind to wander, to dream, to think about the future, to think about your present and your past. Then on a pad jot down what you don’t like about your current lifestyle and what you would like to do, to become…. This is the start of something very important in life!

Imagine you were told that you had 24 hours to live? What didn’t you do? Who did you not get to be? Did you live out your Dreams? How many things did you tick off your Bucket List?

Vision

You need to have a Vision and the best definition I’ve heard is from Bill Hybels in his book ‘Courageous Leadership’ who says “Vision is a picture of the Future that produces Passion!” What is it that could possibly do that for you? What will give you sufficient Passion to want to get out of your Comfort Zone and Transform your Life? Whatever it may be, don’t go to your grave with the dance still inside of you. We were all gifted Talents from God, our gift to Him is what we do with those Talents and I’m not talking performance here, I’m simply talking about being fit and healthy, leading us to be better Fathers, Husbands, Brothers.

Dreams

Dreams are like clouds floating aimlessly in the sky (a wish), unless you commit them to a Plan (a need). Hence the reason I suggested jotting down your thoughts on paper, just very broadly at first as we need to understand Goal Setting before we set Goals on how to get there. In time a Journal will prove to be one of your biggest and best aids, as you plot and plan and record your progress. A Journal helps you to remain super focussed and what you focus upon you get in time!

Goals

Once we have a Vision, you need to set some Goals, S.M.A.R.T. Goals. Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time Bound. The key here is to set an Achievable Goal, but one that is fairly challenging that it excites you enough to want to try and achieve it. A Goal is simply a Promise you make to yourself, so make sure you can keep the Promise!

Once you achieve the first Goal, you are making Progress and it is Progress that fuels our Motivation. It’s the first step to becoming Successful in Life and Success is doing what you said you would do. Period!!

So be wary of setting Goals that are too ambitious, just less than a Decade ago I set myself a Goal of running 30 minutes 3 times/week. Initially I could not run 20 minutes without stopping, but in time I achieved what now seems like a simplistic goal (I weighed a Ton then and it seemed like a Mountain) but that freed me to start dreaming of bigger things such as completing an Ironman.

Perseverance

Sometimes we are very close to achieving our Goals, but we don’t Persevere and we quit and this becomes a habit, it becomes part of our make-up. So if you do decide to chase a Dream, a Vision, a Goal it’s important to understand that it can take 14-21 days to break the shackles of bad habits, which in a short space of time can become good habits and enjoyable ones too. The key is being bold enough to take that first step.

As much as you won’t feel like it at times, just put your kit on, get outside or into the Gym and take that first step, as that is the hardest part of the whole equation….. The First Step to getting started and the First Step to every scheduled exercise session, if you can do that you will be successful. When faced with agonising decisions, things like TV (over exercise) or Muffins (over weight loss) simply stop and ask yourself will this take me closer to, or further away from my Goal? If you are focussed, the right answer wins the day so ask yourself often W.I.N. (What’s Important Now?)!

When the going gets tough, it’s time for you to toughen up and persevere and if you can look yourself in the mirror at the end of each day and say ‘I did what I set out to do today’, then Failure becomes an Impossibility and everything else in Life becomes a distinct Possibility.

Summary

-Cast a Vision, your Dreams for your Life.

-Commit it to paper (plan) and keep a record of your progress (Journal).

-Set Achievable Goals and work your way up the ladder.

-Just get started as it all starts with that very first step.

-Persevere, every storm will pass.

-Ask yourself W.I.N.

-Look yourself in the Mirror and Smile…. You are a Winner!

Tapering for Ironman or Ironman 70.3?

The countdown to IMSA 70.3 in Buffalo City (East London) has started and for many this is the toughest part of the preparation. The reason is quite simply, that you may be a novice, or you may be unsure what to do, or the little bird on your shoulder keeps posing thoughts, suggestions or questions.

Remember that it takes 10-14 days for training adaptations, so there is absolutely no point in striving for extra fitness at this time, as you will NOT get any fitter. With two weeks to go, here are a few thoughts, ideas and suggestions of my own (personal not scientific) gained over many years of tapering and competing.

1. Some athletes look forward to a taper as it brings with it a nice break from the tough training (I certainly do). However, some athletes and even coaches view the taper period with uncertainty and anxiety. You will not lose fitness by tapering, as the amount of training required to maintain fitness is considerably less than the amount of training required to acquire that fitness.
2. If you are feeling a little stressed, believe me it is normal for the anxiety levels to rise in the final two weeks. We are all in the same boat and hopefully the content that follows will help you to put your mind at ease and relax somewhat.
3. I can promise you that it is far better to go into a race 100% healthy and 90% fit (as opposed to 100% fit and 90% healthy), so beware of trying to chase a little extra fitness in the final two weeks. Rather relax and allow the body some invaluable Rest and Recovery!
   

   Rest and Recovery are vital!

4. DO NOT try and catch up on any missed long rides, or more particularly long runs as you will do yourself more harm than good. Too many Ironman athletes destroy any chance of a good performance by leaving much needed energy  (and reserves) on the training ground in the final two weeks.
   

   Cut back on long rides/runs

5. Mind: Remember that the mind is a very powerful tool and when you start a Taper, you may feel sluggish, weak, tired but I tell myself (and believe) that it is the mind (sub conscious) wanting to ensure that we don’t overdo things. The amazing thing is, I have often felt super ‘pap’ in the final days/weeks, but when that gun goes off and the adrenalin kicks in, the body (and mind) feels amazing and can produce super human performances. Don’t allow the mind to tell you that you are unfit, fat or lazy during your taper, as that is not the case and remember that allowing the body to Recover and absorb what you’ve put in, is an important training discipline.
6. During a taper period you can help maximise performance by controlling certain things, including the frequency, duration and intensity of your training sessions. The body is used to training regularly so it’s important not to go cold turkey and cull the training.
7. Duration: Ideally you want to trim the time (volume) spent training during the course of the final 10-14 days and I would even advocate one full rest day per week in the final two weeks. The key here is the long sessions, cut them back, especially running as there can be a great deal of accumulative fatigue that you want to eradicate. Reducing the duration of your sessions will help build/replenish muscle strength and avoid mental fatigue. Try and use the saved ‘hours’ to get some extra sleep/rest.
   

   Cut back on Volume

8. Intensity: From an intensity point of view I’m looking towards cutting back and being efficient in the final weeks. Bearing in mind that I would be aiming for 4:20-30/km for a 21km in a 70.3, there is no need for me to be hammering 8 x 1000m reps at 3:40’s 10 days out. I will do a set of 5 x 1000’s at 4 min/km and it will feel very comfortable, with little or no risk of overdoing it. This helps me to maintain some of the training adaptations that could be lost with a total reduction in volume and intensity. Remember to consider the Risk vs Reward equation at all times.
   

   Don’t leave it all on the track

9. Frequency: One thing I would do is avoid any days with 3 sessions during my taper but having said that generally I prefer to keep the frequency level  at a similar level, even though some of the sessions hardly seem worthwhile, but it does keep the mind settled. Too much cutting back on frequency of sessions can lead to an overactive mind and you may lose your ‘feel’.
10. You will not get fatter during your taper (unless you eat way too much), but you may get heavier so avoid the scale at this time. The reason you get heavier is that your Glycogen stores are being replenished and you are probably retaining more water. Just because you can relax on your training, it doesn’t mean that you can relax on your nutrition, so beware of inputting too many junk Carbs, especially if you are travelling. You need high octane fuel when you race, so pay special attention to good quality meals.

Wishing you all the very best for your race and remember to enjoy the day, as very often it is the Journey that is more important than the outcome of any race. As former Springbok centre Helgard Muller once said to me after the New York Marathon “Hey soutie, hoekom het jy so hard gehol want my medalje is dieselfde kleur as joune?” (translation: “Hey Englishman, why did you  run so hard, as my medal is the same colour as yours?”)

YES, you Can, you Will, you Want to!!

How would you define Success?

In a world where people are often measured in terms of wealth, material possessions or status, how would you define being the Best or being Successful?

A dictionary may define best as “of the most excellent, effective, outstanding or desirable type or quality!” That is a pretty good definition, although it is very broad.

Remember, there is nothing noble about being superior to someone else, the true nobility lies in being superior to your previous self.

So in a material world where far too often we are judged in terms of worldly standards, I thoroughly enjoyed the book entitled ‘The Training Camp” by Jon Gordon.

The book is a Fable about excellence and talks about what the Best do better than others.  There are 11 key lessons and I thought they may be worth sharing, as these are things we can all strive towards in an effort to become better, or more successful. For more on this, follow the link….. http://ironmansa.com/2012/09/04/eleven-traits-of-the-best-of-the-best/

The past week and my final week in Boulder:

As mentioned previously the highlight was the arrival of my Family and it has been wonderful to be able to show them where I have prepared, to introduce them to new friends and show them some of the beauty of Boulder.

It’s been a busy week, with the kids running in the East End 2km, the Boulder Creek 5km and enjoying a tough 3km swim session with Flatirons Swim Coach Wolfgang Dittrich. This afternoon both Camryn and Jamie will be having a personal swim session with 5 times World Champion Simon Lessing and tomorrow they both spend a day at school in Boulder.

Camryn, Dad and Jamie pre the Boulder Creek 5km

This past week was a good week from a training point of view, as I seemed to come out of my little ‘training slump’, the highlight of the week being a 40km bike time trail, with a 10km run off the bike and for me, the numbers were very positive. You see I’m one of those people who are not the best of trainers, in the sense that I generally need and thrive on competition to dig deep and work at a higher level. I’ve always struggled to produce good training sessions (unless somebody irks me), so very often I’m going into races never knowing my true form, but simply putting in the hard yards and believing in my ability to dig deep and fight to the bitter end.

Yesterday (Sunday) I concluded my Boulder training ‘block’ with a 4 hour bike ride up to Raymond and Ward (9,000+ feet) and it’s great to be able to climb for almost 2 hours at an average heart rate of 118, when 3-4 weeks ago the average HR was 30 beats higher. To me that is progress, not sure if it is the acclimatization to the  altitude, fitness improvement or simply taking it easier, but I do know that my brain is able to turn those numbers into a positive. So now it’s time to back off, idle and look forward to a great game of Chess in Las Vegas at the World 70.3 Championships.

I mention Chess, as these races require an inordinate amount of patience and you very often have to react to your opponent’s moves, before striving to knock the Pawns off one by one and seeking that elusive check mate. Also treating the race as a game of Chess certainly helps to take the mind off the real pain that our body and mind has to endure, in order to be able to persevere and  produce our best.

Perseverance is not about talents, nor time…. It is about Finishing!!

Perseverance does not demand more than we have, but all that we have.

Perseverance recognizes life is not a long race, but many short ones in succession.

So while I thought I knew a lot about Sport, I have realized that every day, every training session and in particular every competition presents another opportunity for me to learn more about Life, about persevering, about trying to be the best that I can be. This has been an incredible Journey where I am able to learn more about Him and who I am.

Pastor Bob Richards, an Olympic Pole Vaulter says “people are inspired when they see themselves as they can become and not as they are. It’s when they see themselves, not in terms of their weaknesses and shortcomings or failures….But in terms of what they can be, when they begin to believe they can be what their vision tells them…. That’s when they’re inspired.”

In this sporting Journey of mine I have tried to focus on seeing myself as I could become and no longer as I was and I certainly hope that I have learnt from my experiences along the way and that I could in some small way aspire to the Lessons learnt in the Training Camp.

Incidentally, the Journey has been more rewarding to me than any medals or accolades achieved along the way. In the Training Camp they talk about the Journey being more important than the Destination and that the Moment is more important than any success or failure and I would have to agree with this, as it is the opportunity that is the success and the reward.

“Success is like wrestling a gorilla. You don’t quit when you’re tired,

you quit when the gorilla is tired.” –unknown.

 

Key Training Block

The past two weeks (week 4 and 5) in Boulder have seen me put in some really hard work but the accumulative fatigue has definitely caught up with me, so needed a little backing off (http://ironmansa.com/2012/08/27/overtraining-tough-it-out-or-recover/).

Some key sessions and insights:

For my run training in Boulder, I train with the RRB club, under head coach Darren De Reuck and we normally do two quality sessions and one long run a week. As i’m eager to do well in Kona, I’m pushing my limits somewhat (fortunatly I recognise that) and my 4th week totalled 100km, but it was last weekend that probably knocked me back somewhat.

On the Saturday I did 22km, including a hard track workout (3 sets of 800/1600/800 with 2 min recovery and 3 min between sets) and when you are doing a mile sub 5:50 (or sub 3:40/km) the 2 minutes between intervals is barely enough recovery, so over the course of the whole session you accumulate a lot of fatigue and experience some serious Oxygen Debt. This was immediately followed by a hardish 3km swim workout.

Ideally I should have ensured I had a few days easy running to recover,  but when you are pushing boundaries you tend to push them till something gives. So the next morning I was doing the Heart and Sole Half Marathon, as part of a 34km long run and although I was awmazed out how comforatble I felt, running 21km in sub 1h40 and 2h 50min all in all (including stops), the accumulative fatigue would soon sneak up on me.

Bear in mind the previous weekend over 3 days I had done a 160km bike ride, 32 km of running and a quality session, which totalled 20km, plus 2 big swim sessions, so this wasn’t just a sudden ‘hit’. Anyway the Monday was an active recovery day and then Tuesday I did a 17km Fartlek session on tired legs (but was moving well), followedd by a swim and then a 50km bike pacing test. This started to show that there was too much fatigue in the legs, but still I was pushing on.

Wednesday I had an easy 1h40 min run on the trails, it was very hot and I think I was a little dehydrated, which wasn’t clever…. took the rest of the day off.

Thursday I needed to do 6 x 10 min hills on the bike, aiming for some decent Watts, but struggled to hold the Watts after the third one and although I completed the session, I knew my legs were shot. Ian Rodger, who has been helping me with my biking picked it up a lot earlier than I did and had been trying to cut my cycling back for a few days, but I had been compounding the problem by continuing to push hard on the run side.

Anyway, seems we are on the same wave length now and I’ve cut the running back a lot, which will freshen the legs up quite considerably and I could already feel less fatigue when I rode 160km yesterday, at about 34km/hr average for most of the ride, except the final 20km when I just spun easy.

So this week and next will be very low key runwise, while the bike (and the swim) requires another big week (for Kona) before I start a mini taper into Las Vegas.

Lessons Learnt:

1. Listen to your body.

2. Don’t think you are a young Pro, when you are almost 52.

3. Watch for any signs of over training.

4. You need more recovery than you think you need.

5. Running can hurt your body (more than biking and swimming).

6. Rather arrive at the race 100% helathy and 90% fit, than 90% healthy and 100% fit. You will have a far greater chance of doing well.

7. Where possible seek the input of an independant 3rd party or coach, as you are training in a cocoon and want to push hard, to prove you have what it takes.

8. Lots of Recovery required, massage and in my case, Compression Boots and/or Ice Baths, as have access to great facilities at All Sports Recovery.

Overtraining: Tough it out or Recover?

Another thing that athletes pushing themselves at or close to their limit need to factor in, is ‘recovery’ and very often the questions are how much can my body take, how hard can I push? The key question though is how much recovery do I need, without being considered (by yourself) soft? I’ve often heard that you need to push yourself through immense fatigue to toughen up for an Ironman, but this level of fatigue can lead to overtraining, illness or injury, so one has to be very careful.

Over the past two weeks I encountered one of those ‘slumps’ and very often you try to push through, thinking I need to tough this out. Fortunately, I’ve been training with Heart Rate, Power Meter (bike), Speed and Perceived Exertion all of which are indicators athletes use to look for progress in their training. However, we can also use these indicators to see if we have hit a Plateau or have stopped making progress and an old friend, Ian Rodger, who has been helping Conrad Stoltz has been giving me some training input on my cycling and made a few very interesting observations.

Although the indicators came through in a couple of cycle ‘test’ sessions, the extreme fatigue in my legs had been caused by running much harder and longer than I had been accustomed to. Add the altitude, heat and ‘struggling to sleep’ into the mix and you have a number of additional stressors that can impact your body, over and above the swim, run, biking.

So I was heading for a case of overtraining, something I would have struggled to pick up myself as being an athlete, you are very much in a cocoon and don’t see it coming, as you want to tough it out. It so often takes an independent 3^rd party to witness the signs and to recommend additional rest, so I was grateful not necessarily for the couple of rest days, but for the opportunity for the body to absorb what I had subjected it to, with the knowledge that I will rebound stronger, fitter and fresher.

Spotting the signs is one thing, doing something about it is another. People say we need courage to train hard, but I think the hard training is the easy part, as it goes with the turf ,if you have the time and especially the appropriate training environment like I’m currently experiencing. To me it takes far greater courage for an athlete to tone things down, to back off what they truly believe they need or to change their training programme.

Last year I noted that I had done an extremely good track session (super fast times for me at altitude) and fortunately Paul Wolf, a fellow triathlete and former Biokinetician, who knows sport very well, picked up on it and wrote me a reply warning me of over doing it. That was the perfect mail, with the perfect timing and I backed off, tapered well and ended up having a great race in Las Vegas, whereas I had planned to push for one more week… it could have been disastrous.

This year my main focus is Kona, although I am also racing Las Vegas 70.3, so I am doing a lot of extra training, longer runs, more weekly mileage, longer bike rides, swims, etc, etc. Once you add disturbed sleeping patterns, high altitude, heat and stronger training partners into the mix, you have training stresses that you are not accustomed to, you are highly motivated and have all the time in the world, so you are pushing as best you can.

So a week ago Sunday I had just concluded my best ever training week (see http://ironmansa.com/2012/08/27/key-training-block/), 100km of running including a super fast track session followed the next day by a long run, plus biking and swimming. I thought things were going great and was ready for the next week (just gone by). Then I did a light Fartlek session, followed by a swim on Tuesday and a tough bike workout in the late afternoon and sent the data back to Ian, who immediately recognised the HR was higher than expected for the session and the Watts I was pushing, so he had me back off on Wednesday.

Thursday was another test/tough bike session on Jamestown Hill. Once again the data was not what it should be so a total day off on Friday and must be honest was glad to say goodbye to that 120km ride, as my body was tired. Saturday was a relatively easier day, followed by a 160km ride yesterday at a very good average for me, so I think I’m getting back to full strength, I think I’ve absorbed the hard workloads, I think the recovery has kicked in and now we can look forward to the next 7 weeks of preparation for Kona.

I would recommend that you think of your body as you would a sponge used for washing cars, if you use the sponge regularly every day, day after day, it may lose it’s shape or elasticity and need to be replaced (in the body’s case it may need some rest and recovery or it gets ill/injured). If you use the sponge sparingly, it almost always returns to it’s normal shape and is ready for another session. The challenge is finding the balance.

As an experienced athlete and coach, you know that you will experience 2 or 3 slumps in a 12 week training period, especially when long distance travel (time zones), altitude and heat are added into the mix. I experienced a mini one in the first week of arriving, a full blown one this past week, now I need to keep an eye out for the next one, unless I keep the training nice and balanced.

The good news is that I had this ‘extreme fatigue’ in and out of my body a good fortnight before Las Vegas, so hopefully I may be on an upward curve going into Las Vegas, which is what we as athletes are always aiming for. Hold Thumbs!!

The Road to Kona Week One

Arrived in Boulder, Colorado one week ago (Monday) and I can hardly believe a week has whizzed on by, which by my calculations leaves me with 11 weeks to Kona (and 6 to Las Vegas). Only 77 Days left, I can remember starting my build up to Kona in SA on 1 May and writing day 1 of 163, how time flies.

Altitude hurts us Coastal boys, but as Boulder Running Company says Boulder is not for Sissys, so we have to get on with it. I have always wanted this, have asked for it, am Blessed to have the opportunity so the last thing I will do is complain about it, as I love it and I really do love the ‘hurt box’ actually! Training this first week was tough though, as Oxygen was scarce, almost like sucking a double thick smoothie through a broken straw, especially on our long ride.

Tried to ease into the training and had a couple of good sessions, including a long run on the Trails Saturday with some reasonably good quality intervals (1 x 3 mile;1 x 2 mile and 2 x 1 mile) and a Sunday long ride up to 9,500 feet. I’ve been humbled on this ride every year I’ve been to Boulder, but this year I am determined to master it and ensure I ride it at least once without getting dropped, as I’m always last and being waited for at the refreshment stop in Raymond. (In fact I’ve been last in every swim, bike, run session this week, but next week I’m sure to see some progression.)

Was great linking up with Freddy Lampret for his brick session on Thursday and our long ride… always good to chat to fellow South Africans. Going to Flatirons Gym is always cool and feeds the motivation when you witness Crowie Alexander and all the other Pros doing lap after lap in the pool. Cannot believe Dave Scott is 58, the man is in unbelievable shape and am looking forward to some swim sessions in his squad and that of Simon Lessing in the coming weeks.

Got my DNA on track….Dream IT, Note IT, Aim for IT! The big question is defining what IT is? I try and follow Tanzanian marathon runner Juma Ikangaa’s approach, he says “I don’t train to beat another runner. We are out there together competing with the marathon and I train to run the marathon as fast as I can.” So I’m over here preparing to the best of my ability, in an attempt to complete the Ironman as fast as I can, as hard to control who will line up, what the wind will do, how hot/humid it will be, so am focussing on what I can control.

Recovery is absolutely vital and the first few days I was struggling to sleep, but last night had a full 8 hours which is comforting. Have joined the AllSports Recovery Centre and make a turn their daily to spend 30 minutes in the Normadic Recovery Boots, which helps immensely.

All Sports Recovery, Compression Boots

This coming weekend is the Boulder 70.3 and this will be a nice outing for me (are they ever nice?) even though I won’t be fully acclimatised. With Las Vegas World 70.3 on 9 September, I can’t afford to race it, but as my focus is Kona, I need the long stuff and how better to get in a good 5 hour session, than in a 70.3 event. Hopefully there will be enough Oxygen to get me through the swim, then I can put in a reasonably hard 90km bike before running an easy 21km on tired legs. It will be tough watching a few of my fellow Age Groupers come hurtling past me on the run, but that is part of the discipline required if one is to achieve ones goals.

Congrats to Jamie and all the Grey Junior rugby teams who excelled against Grey Bloemfontein this past weekend, memories to last forever for those young boys. Made my weekend! Also well done to the Sharks and to Cameron Van Der Burgh, Gold Medal and World Record at the Olympics-doesn’t get any better than that. (Chose the SA Flag picture to show my support for Team SA at the Olympics)

It is tough being away from Michelle, Camryn and Jamie (and friends) and we are all looking forward to us reuniting in a little over 3 weeks from now. I am, however, very fortunate to have wonderful hosts in the De Reuck family and they really do make me feel at home (although at home I don’t have to do chores…. Grrrr Darren! Thanks Colleen for doing my laundry, you are so special). So till next week, keep well, be safe and Live, Love, Life!

Thanks to Isuzu for making this trip and dream possible, Isuzu certainly Delivers! Also thanks to my support sponsors (Cytomax, Orca, Online Innovations) and especially to my clients and my employers, Consolidated Financial Planning for there encouragment and support.

“I can do all this through Him who gives me strength.” Phil 4:13