Swimming – A Timeline from early 2012 to end 2013 (2014 and 2015 to come later)

I never really swam much before signing up to my first ironman which was Wales in Sept 2012. In order to conquer my fear of open water and to feel good about being able to do the distance I went on a swimtrek holiday to the British Virgin Islands.

Here’s a snippet from that trip.

I’ve paused it at one point and it is plain to see that I’m doing virtually a catch-up. If you check out Mr Smooth you’ll see that the catch at the front portion of my stroke is very late which creates a huge deadspot in the stroke. This leads to a loss of momentum on every stroke which means I’m constantly putting my effort in to get my body moving through the water again. An extreme analogy would be one of pushing a car. It takes a lot of effort to get the momentum going but once you’re in motion it takes relatively little effort to keep it going.

The other issue is that my kick is creating loads of drag and little propulsion. I bend my knee so much that I guess I was imaging kicking a football rather than imaging it being a tail that cuts through the water creating extra propulsion like the tail of a fish.

One good thing is that my hips are relatively high in the water however. Often this is an issue for adult onset swimmers but it’s the one thing I seemed to have picked up early. Now onto another potential bad point. I’m breathing every fourth stoke. This is a long time to not get a fresh breath of air and was going to be a limiter on the intensity that I could sustain as I wouldn’t get enough oxygen into the lungs.

6 months after this point I did the Ironman Wales swim in 1:08 although I’m 99% sure the course was short that year! Subsequently while back in London I went to see Julian and get a swim smooth session. Unfortunately I can’t find the super high res video with his commentary so I just have the stroke recording.

My turnover rate had increased and my speed had improved but the issues from above were still present. Additionally there is a NEW one! My head is sooo low that I’m having to really turn my head really really far to get my mouth above the surface of the water. This also has the impact of limiting the future increases in turnover rate as I’m spending lots of time trying to get to air.

This video was done a month or two after the swim smooth session. My stroke rhythm is starting to get better at this point. The dead spots have been reduced drastically. In the previous video you can almost see me come to a full stop after each stroke and you can see that after Julian’s advice this has improved somewhat. Additionally the kick has become a much nicer flutter kick although I developed an odd rhythm where I’d do two little flutter kicks (flutter kick tips here). Although my head position improved a bit it was still quite deep in the water which you can see from the video below. The very back of my head is now poking out of the water but this still leaves me quite far to turn. Tips on head position here

Generally the stroke is getting better but there are still improvements. For instance you can see that I I finish my stroke early not benefiting from the extra momentum my triceps can provide if I complete the elbow extension before exiting the water. Tips the exit of freestyle here

Here’s a later video of me swimming at an expo in an endless pool. You can see the head position has improved a lot and the stroke has much more rhythm. The stroke is still a bit short however. There are a few spots where the rhythm is completely disjointed but this due to trying to avoid the jet. On a side note Endless Pools are a lot of fun and I would definitely buy one if I had the space for it. If I ever move out to the suburbs I’m pretty sure I’ll get one.

I don’t have any videos from 2014, but am planning to video my stroke again this week if possible and figured it would be good to review where I was. I’m definitely faster now but it’ll be interested in seeing how the technique has improved versus the increased speed just being fitness related. All comments welcome!!

New Coach – A case study

In 2014 I coached a few people casually helping them with their first Olympic triathlon, and more formally one of my friends to his first half ironman. It was my first real attempt at cultivating an athlete and providing them with a complete service. It was born mostly out of guilt after I signed him up to the race (literally with his phone and his credit card) after he was shooting his mouth off at a bar after 8+ pints. At that point he wasn’t able to jog for more than 10 minutes, and after 6-8 months of training he managed to do the job at Syracuse 70.3 in about 7 hours 30 minutes. It was a rewarding experience from a coach perspective and now I have my certification I am going to give it another go in 2015. I’m not looking to have anything related to triathlon be my full time job, I like that my passion is not tied to my livelihood and feel if I were to mix business and pleasure it would not be as much fun.

Being newly certified (still awaiting the official paperwork, however) I thought it would be a good idea to document my ‘first’ year coaching so that I can look back in the future and reflect on anything I learn in the process as well as share the experience with others. Having completed numerous triathlons and spent countless hours reading books/articles, listening to podcasts and experimenting with new technology and new training methods, I’m comfortable teaching others how to train for the sport. A large part of coaching is the mental aspect: allaying fears about the swim, being able to meet cutoffs, helping people break down a large goal into achievable milestones, showing them how their training is leading to incrementally better performance along the way, and often motivating them after they miss workouts, have a bad session, etc. Time will tell whether I can do all this across a range of athletes with different goals.

Anyway, I’m in NYC, only want to coach locals and only if they have a concrete ambitious goal with lots of motivation to achieve it. If that’s you get in touch, no matter your starting point. Be warned that I will mention you in future posts though!!

Tour de Big Island – Day 4 – Return back to Kona

The last day of the journey around the island was pretty uneventful. I woke up early and cycled back to Honoka’a where I stopped at Grandmas Kitchen run by a second or third generation Portuguese family so the menu had a slight Iberian twist to it. The family that run it was cool and they were pretty excited by the bike and promised to get a bicycle rack for future patrons.

I then climbed back out of Honoka’a towards Waimea this time taking Mud Lane in the correct direction (the previous day I had screwed up). The scenary is so great. If you were inclined to do Hilo, Waimea (via the belt road) to Kona in one day you would pass lush rainforests coming out of Hilo, rolling pastures around Waimea, then rolling grassland past Waimea on the way to Kona, and then the scorched earth from the lava as you get towards Kona. The day was so uneventful that looking back I don’t even remember if I took the high road or the low road back to Kona.

For those looking at this and debating their own trip, here’s a few pointers. There is only one way to Waimea from Honoka’a or Waipio but once there you have a couple options. If you continue going west (towards Kawaihae) you’ll have a gradual fast decline until you get back to sea level where you will join onto the Ironman World Champsionships bike course. The road here is the smoothest I have ever known, not a single pot hole and wide shoulders were you can ride side by side without even being close to the road. The downside is that it is universally hot with no cloud coverage.

The alternative is to travel south from Waimea. This is a more picturesque route in my humble opinion but if you’re into triathlon and never seen lava fields you’ll probably want to go the other way. From Waimea to Kona going south, you will have zero places to stop for food or water until you’re practically in Kona. I love this route however as it’s undulating, with a few gradual climbs/descents, some flattish terrain, and some short rollers, finishing with one really long descent into Kona. It sticks at higher altitudes so is fresher for those not built for the hot weather, but even so when there is no cloud coverage it can get very warm. (That route tends to get more cloud coverage than the Queens K, the ironman course, because the moisture gets sucked up the hills where it congregates and forms clouds)

Tour De Big Island – Day 3 – Hilo to Waipio Valley

So far on my journey I had received a few punctures already. They were mostly pinch flats I got on descents when heading down hill and hitting one of the catseyes (the reflectors in the road) at high speed. By the time I got to Hilo I didn’t have any fresh tubes left, just punctured ones with a flat kit. My mistake on Day 3 was to not head to a bike shop in Hilo and grab some more, or repair the ones I had before heading out. Although a mistake it did make this the most adventurous day.

The start of the day was sunny and fresh and the ride out of Hilo to the north is very scenic. Although you’re on a highway that isn’t the smoothest there are intermittent views of the ocean and on some of the bridges the views are great and depending on the swell you might get to watch some of the surfers in the distance.

As you start climbing out of Hilo you’ll get to a fork at Papaikou with a scene giving you the option to take the scenic route. I decided to take it and at first was underwhelmed as the roads weren’t well paved, were very windy and you’re surrounded by huge trees (I was a bit tree’d out by this point), but you are directed to the coast again and you can choose to make a stop at a beach. It would be a pretty early stop if you choose the same schedule as me however.

As you approach the highway again there is a cool spot called What’s Shakin. It’s a great place to grab a healthy smoothie and a sugary snack. There aren’t many stops of this quality so take advantage of it so that you don’t get too bored with the supplies you carry.

At this point all was well and I continued on my way. At mile 18 I hit a rock that had fallen onto the road. There is debris along the side of the roads from broken branches, rocks, etc and depending on traffic you have to decide whether to block traffic or navigate the obstacle course on the shoulder. It’s not that bad but if your mind wonders like mine you can hit something.

On the side of the road I managed to go through my entire remaining patch kits trying to get a working tube again. I had got going again with the tube above but after a few bumps the patch broke. I then started getting that dreaded sense of fear when you only have 2 patches left and a long way of nothingness to ride across to get to the next bike shop. I lost one patch on this tube again, and the last patch on a tube with a large puncture. Lots of Fs and Cs later I picked myself off the floor and debated my options.

I was in an area with signal but didn’t want to get my friend Mike to drive across the island to come get me. One because it would have been a real pain for him (like 4 hours of driving total) and I would probably have abandoned the days riding. I lined him up as a backup and then messaged the local cycling group’s Facebook page looking for help. Then I started walking towards the next town, Honokaa. There is no bike shop there, the next stop is in Waimea. I think there are only 3 towns with bike shops: Kailua-Kona, Hilo and Waimea.

After a bit of walking with my thumb out a nice Hawaiian dude pulled over and offered me a lift to Honokaa. He saw the ukulele and figured I wasn’t such a bad guy. On the ride we got to talking about his pretty extreme political views and how he had never left the island except for a couple occasions when he was incarcerated and transferred to the mainland to serve his sentence. I decided not to ask him what he had done. That’s not to say he wasn’t a really nice guy, he was, I just spent the entire ride to Honokaa asking myself what he had done. He took down the bike off the back of the truck for me and I left him some gas money on the passenger seat. He hadn’t wanted any money but I figured you should do things like this to show gratitude and pay it forward to the next person stuck on the side of the road.

Once in Honokaa I had a burger and fries after realising that Honokaa didn’t have a bike shop. Crap, back to square 1. I confirmed the next shop was in Waimea, a place called Mountain Road Cycles. I gave them a call to check they had road bike parts as the name confused me, I didn’t know if they sold mountain bikes or road bikes for mountainous areas. It turns out they are a general bike shop and the guy that owns it is really great. I couldn’t get a taxi in Honokaa (they don’t have a taxi service per se) and the bike shop owner gave me some tips about how to hitch a ride: look desperate. At this point my girlfriend Lindsey called me in a semi-panic. I hadn’t let her know my predicament and also she saw was a semi-cryptic message on the Hawaii Cycling Club facebook page. She was back on the mainland at a wedding so couldn’t help from there. After allaying her fears I got to work. I walked out of town and then starting walking with my thumb out. I walked for 15 minutes and not one person stopped to ask. So then I went nuclear: took the front wheel off and put the bike on my right shoulder and put my wrist through the front wheel and stuck my thumb up over it. I occasionally turned around to give despairing looks at the passers and within 2 minutes a nice family with a pick-up truck did a U turn to come pick me up again.

They dropped me off at the bike shop and the dude (I forget his name now) was nice enough to change my tube for me, as well as teach me the right way to put my particular brand of tire on the rim (I had the tread facing the wrong way). The bike shop isn’t visible from the main road but is hidden behind Big Island Brewhaus. MATT (that’s his name) was really knowledgeable and we got to talking about pro cycling for a bit. There was some cool bikes on the walls (a bamboo bike, a lovely wooden bike among others). Unfortunately the other photos didn’t come out very well.

After some tacos at Brewhaus I made my way back in the direction I had come from to get to my night’s lodgings. Matt from the bike shop had given me directions: go down the hill and turn right onto  Mud Lane until you get to Honokaa. I got to the mudlane intersection and the right turn led up the hill and the left turn led down the hill. Despite remembering that Matt had definitely said turn right I figured I knew better because Honokaa was at a lower elevation and the left turn went downhill. I confirmed this on Google maps cycling directions (STILL IN ITS BETA!) and headed down the most stunning road I had ever seen. The pavement was pristene, tree lined and no traffic. I plummeted down quickly.

Gradually the smooth pavement gave way for packed gravel, which gave way to packed gravel with large pot holes, which gave way to just a trail with large rocks. The climb back up would have been a pain and at this point I only had an hour or so of daylight left.

I was eagerly awaiting the next junction where google maps was telling me to turn left. I figured that must have been a main road. When I got there I found the scene below. Google maps was trying to tell me to head straight into that.

Poop. What a day. I turned right instead and found beloved pavement. I thanked my bike for behaving so far, and not flatting despite the ridiculous terrain. I got back to the main road and then resumed my journey to my evening’s lodgings which is in the Waipio valley. It’s a bit of a detour if you’re trying to save time going around the island so I would recommended skipping it and staying in Waimea or Honokaa. The exception to that is if you’re willing to spend a full day here and do a hike into the heart of the Waipio valley. My lodgings were pretty basic and there were lots more bees/insects/cockroaches than average due to the open nature of the shared living space. I won’t recommend that one here either! This didn’t really bother me as I was just glad to have gotten there. The final 5-10 miles of my ride there was starting to get dark, my battery was running very low, and then I decided to drop it while descending a hill at 25-30mph. I had another dread moment because I hadn’t memorised the address, but thankfully I had only broken the screen and the phone was still functioning.

Looking back, it was a pretty awesome day!

Tour De Big Island – Day 2 – Naalehu to Hilo

I’ve been going on a blog rampage the last few days. This is a description of a bike tour I did around the big island halfway through 2014. The first day is here. And here’s the route for the second day, heart rate and power data ‘n all.

I woke up at my B&B and had a couple egg muffins and coffee before setting off. The day was to be characterized by one long incline and then one long decline. I didn’t realise this at the time however, but was stocked up with energy gels and water to keep me going as I prefer to assume the worst when I don’t have a clue what I’m in for. The internet of things in the Big Island isn’t necessarily the most accurate so I didn’t bother to research in depth where I could stop. I knew the distance to the next town where I would assume I could get sustenance.

The ride out of Naalehu leads quickly a black sand beach that gets a lot of attention from tourists. I was there quite early in the morning and still had to contend with bus loads of other people.Before I stun you with the beauty of the beach, check out this bad ass. It’s not exactly the best touring bike but I had my backpack and ukulele for supplies. My back was hurting a little from the previous day so tried to travel a bit lighter, maintain a solid core and not go too hard. I have no idea why I left the aerobars on there!

Here’s a picture of the beach from afar. The sand is black and is beautifully contrasted against the lush green grass and huge palm trees. It was a cloudy start to the day, so the view is stunning when you have a bright blue blackdrop too.

There were a bunch of turtles hanging around too, waiting to get laid in front of the onlooking photographers. I didn’t have loads of time to burn so jumped on the bike to head east. It was a pretty shitty day for weather and really drove home how different the climates are in sections of the island. The Kona side rarely gets more than a passing shower but on this side of the island it can rain for an eternity.

My mood matched the weather and I was fighting off a headache all morning so decided to chill out on the road side for a bit to eat trail mix and play ukulele for a bit. There are very few natural stop off points on this day of riding so I was just sat at the side of the road. If I wasn’t playing ukulele [badly] I’m sure the drivers would have stopped to see if I was okay.

Due to the inclement weather there is little to describe except the monotonous gradual incline. To the left there was low cloud coverage so I couldn’t see more than a couple hundred metres. To the right there was low visibility too so I couldn’t see the ocean. The road surface was good so at least the 3 hours it took me to summit were comfortable riding. There is a small town called Volcano Village which is the only real civilization from here to Hilo (excluding any detours).

Cafe Ohia is a great stop off for hot food and snacks. If I recall correctly they had gluten free options, and an enviable plethora of Jesus signs. They really wanted you to know that they were bible-folk. I got talking to a bunch of the other patrons, the most interesting of the lot was an older gentleman from Oregon state who was retired and had visited Hawaii a number of times. The reason this was interesting was because I saw him numerous times after arriving back in Kona and I eventually realised he was homeless and just wondering around. Each time I spoke to him he hadn’t remembered previous encounters so I always got a variance of his story. Maybe he lived in Kona full time or maybe he just visited on an extremely tight budget. It did make me realise that there are a decent number of homeless in Hawaii but because there is fresh fruit abound and plenty opportunities to wash, you can wing it for a long time.

On separate occasions I had also visited Kilauea Lodge and Thai Thai. Thai thai is more informal and good value for money. If you get the same water boy we had you will never get to ask yourself whether you are a half full or half empty kind of person, and will visit the bathroom often. The lodge is a rustic setting with great food (although more pricey). This would be a good alternative stop off instead of Naalehu and looking to do 3 nights rather than 4.

The 3 hours of climbing rewarded me with perhaps my longest uninterrupted downhill of my life. It took me 50 minutes to descend. If you’re so inclined you can go into your lowest gear and hammer out a high cadence to fly all the way down. I took it a little easier.

I arrived in Hilo late aftenoonish and found my night’s lodgings. There are loads of options in and around Hilo. My place was pretty average so I won’t link it here. I took a walk around Hilo and thought it was a little bit old and rustic. It had suffered numerous tsunamis and storms that had battered the dwellings there and it gives you the impression the population just patched it up again rather than rebuild from scratch.

For those wanting to do a 3 day trip, you could try this: Kona -> Volcano Village -> Honokaa -> Kona. It would be a toughish 3 days but is certainly doable. Each year a number of people attempt a similar loop in one day. You can look at my ride data to get a feel for it.

A bike going missing – Triathlete’s Nightmare! The CONCLUSION

I posted multiple times in 2014 as I had a horrible array of airline failures with regard to getting my bicycle from point A to point B.

My complaint went missing in the system for sometime and I eventually got a response from BA saying they hoped my bike had been found and all was well. I responded with a tirade of dissatisfaction and the customer service officer went back and looked into the details in more depth (and used the info from the blog posts). They came back and offered me a 200 GBP voucher for future travel. I felt this was reasonably fair as it roughly corresponded to the monetary value of costs I incurred. It didn’t make me feel warm and fuzzy about flying with them again, but I will probably use the voucher for one of my return trips to Europe. I certainly won’t be flying a bike with them again anytime soon though.

In 2015 I am applying to lessons for travelling with a bike by trying to avoid all flights with bicycles! I’ve had positive experiences with TriBikeTransport although they won’t necessarily service your departure and destination. Good luck all!

Same Bike, New Fit

This winter I decided to get refit for the road bike position on my S5 as I’m riding it loads over the winter (including commuting to work!). I have previously been professionally fit for the bike but it was some time ago and I’ve been through many changes, mainly, I started experiencing saddle sores and my bike setup had probably drifted from the original fit. I got speaking to Joe from FitWerx at the Gold Coast Tri Club Christmas Party speaking about bike fits, aerodynamics, etc – we were the life and soul of the party.

I decided to check them out and use them to get fit on my S5. I’ve been suffering from saddle sores and after lots of research, bike fit seemed to be one of the biggest contributing factors. After spending many an hour shifting my weight around on the saddle I went in today to get fit. The immediate result feels great. In short I’m able to sit down and my natural position puts me on my sit bones and away from soft tissue. Despite the position feeling new and odd I feel like the power is flowing into the pedals more naturally.

Follows is more detail on the whole process.

I’ve been riding my S5 for a couple years now. I was fitted in the winter of 2012 at EnduranceWerx for my 2013 season. In 2012 I had issues with patella tendinitis that sidelined me for a few months and flared up occasionally when I picked up my volume on the bike. I had avoided getting a bike fit because the cost had deterred me, but at the end of the season I decided to suck it up and got fit for both the road bike and TT position on the same bike. There were compromises that had to be made but I went through the whole 2013 season without any bike-related injuries! The adjustment to move to the TT position from the road bike position was pretty simple, raise the seat post 10mm and move the seat forward 20mm. This meant it was pretty easy for me to use the bike for dual purpose as I could clip on the aerobars and adjust the seat. As mentioned before there were a few compromises. The bike is a road bike not a TT bike so when I get into the TT position the handling isn’t as stable as the same position on a TT bike. Additionally the long nose saddle wasn’t always the most comfortable for my old boy in the TT position. Apart from that I was able to cycle comfortably and able to put all my power into the pedals and put out a decent bike split at Ironman Florida. Earlier this year I bought a TT bike so now my S5 has been ‘demoted’ to just being a road bike. It is still my favourite bike on the planet to ride.

Since the previous bike fit I have become more flexible, my power output has increased modestly and I am pretty sure I wrecked the original bike fit after many iterations of adjustments. I still have the original measurements from EnduranceWerx’s Retul fit (which I was very happy with – hence my decision to go through another bike fit), but I didn’t feel as comfortable on it as I had in the past.

I got to FitWerx later than my prescribed appointment because I am a dumbass and misjudged how long it would take to get there. Joe and Ron greeted me and we started getting to work after I devoured a couple coffees and testing out their plumbing. On a side note, they have one of the best toilets/restroom/bathroom I have experienced in a bike shop. It was fragrant and tastefully decorated with bicycle-embossed soap and other subtle bike-influenced decor. That is an odd sidenote but having only opened recently (October-ish 2014) I figured that they had obviously given conscious effort to their facilities so it portended a good level of service.

We went through previous injuries/races/goals/training schedules in a good level of detail where relevant and then Joe gave me some flexibility tests and had me mount the FitWerx test bike with specs from my current bike setup (include my brand of saddle). We did some filming of my position and tracking of knees. Even not being a fit professional I could tell my position was suboptimal and had drifted from my previous 2012 fit. My knee was way forward over my toes and my back was quite arched. When I got home I compared my post-fit 2012 to my pre-fit 2014 to look at the differences but unfortunately the Retul fit documentation only gave me one photo of my pedal stroke and it was at the bottom, so I couldn’t compare knee position in the 3 o clock position. One of the bonuses of the FitWerx fit is I got a USB key with video of my pre and post fits which will be great for future comparison, as well as a few photos of my position with angles shown on it.

Back to the fit. After an initial analysis Joe pulled out a cover for the seat which I initially thought was to protect the seat in case I accidentally sharted. It was in fact a pressure sensor to monitor the pressure across the saddle while pedalling. It’s shown on a TV in front of you as you pedal so you get real time feedback. The measurement concluded and shows a heatmap of pressure and low and behold there was a huge red blob where my saddle sore spot was. I was immediately bought into the possibility that my fit and/or saddle was the cause. The next steps were to make some adjustments to saddle height/reach/stack/seat angle/and other stuff that I don’t know. I got back onto the saddle and we did another pressure measurement, it was better but I still wasn’t putting weight on my sit bones, rather on a bunch of soft tissue around my taint.

Then we got onto trying different saddles. I never had any real complaints about my saddle but after switching out to another saddle (saddle B) I immediately felt the difference and it felt like my weight was going onto my sit bones. It was like night and day. Another pressure test and the weight was distributed in a much better area although still not ideal. The key difference between the saddles was that the new saddle is wider, to accommodate my wide load. To satisfy my curiosity we tried saddle C with a cutout that was also wide but it didn’t feel comfortable and the pressure test also showed the weight distribution to be less than ideal. Each time the measurements reflected my intuition and although I felt pretty good on saddle B Joe felt there was still improvements to be made.

When I had injuries in the past my leg length was measured and although I was never shown to have a skeletal leg length discrepancy it was never ruled out that I might have a functional leg length difference. This can be caused by muscle imbalances and tightness, for instance in the hips. Joe threw on some spacers onto my shoes and after a few adjustments the pressure was being equally distributed on the saddle. I can’t attest to its effectiveness just yet as it happened today but on the ride home (through ice and snow) I felt great. Following a fit it can take the body a while to adjust with larger changes requiring more miles ridden until the adjustment feels natural. For me, that gives me a good excuse to take it easy on the bike for 2 weeks and get in lots of low intensity miles.

That took care (hopefully) of my main complaint. Having been fitted before my pre-fit today wasn’t horrific so a number of the changes to shoulder and hip angles weren’t too dramatic. Some noteworthy points are: the change in position allowed me to have a more natural back arch when holding both the hoods and the drops; my hip angle in both positions were well within the comfort range of my hip range; my elbow joint angle became more flexed; my weight balance felt great with no noticeable weight on my hands.

The last point that I thought is worth mentioning is that on the prefit my ankle joint angle was quite extended (i.e. lots of plantar flexion) which was common amongs runners/triathletes. If I recall correctly the goal was to reduce this angle so that the heel was pushing through more which should avoid losing some power through the anke which was designed by nature (or God depending on your view) as a mechanism to absorb shock when walking/running.

Here’s a few thinking points if you’re considering a bike fit:

• If you’re buying a new bike consider using a bike fitting service to measure you before you buy. Imagine spending thousands of dollars/pounds/pesos on a bike and then later realising it doesn’t fit you. This can be a real danger when buying second-hand bikes and not being able to return them if necessary.
• If you’re spending 4+ hours on the bike a week, or even doing a short commute 5 days a week on your bike you should consider a fit. If you sit at work all day they probably give you a free ergonomic fit. Okay a bike fit may seem expensive but if you break down the cost over the time you spend on the bike, it is more digestible.
• Don’t forget that a bike fit may not tell you what you want to hear. From my experience today, they’re not trying to push merchandise on you, but if you need a new saddle/stem/etc you need to be prepared going into the session that you may have to decide how much you’re willing to spend. Tell them any constraints up front as I’m sure that will help them get you fit more efficiently. Keep in mind that any constraints may take you further away from the ideal fit so it can be a balancing act.
• Different bike shops will use different fit systems but the main thing you’re paying for is fit expertise. Even if two shops use the same fit system you may get two different fits (although hopefully not a million miles away). You should get something that gives you a breakdown of the key measurements should you need to readjust yourself (e.g. your saddle post slips, you travel, etc). You can also ask for marks to be put on the bike so that you can set up the bike in your exact fit if you travel.
• I had positive experiences both at EnduranceWerx and FitWerx although I’ll be going back to FitWerx because our personalities gelled well, they really took my goals and concerns and made them the forefront of my fit and obviously have lots of passion for cycling.

This is turning into a real essay but there are still a couple of positive points to make. The prices of the equipment was very reasonable and smaller impulse items (e.g. the speedplay cleat covers) were competitively priced (even below amazon and a bunch of online retailers) which is very refreshing. The fit was not rushed at all and felt more like a few dudes enjoying their passion rather than an industrial line pushing business through in a hurry. The snow had come down while we were doing the fit and by the time we were done the cycling conditions were horrific so I was lucky enough to catch a ride from Ron. He obviously has a wealth of knowledge and corrected a couple minor issues for me and gave me some useful advice on bike maintenance.

EDIT: I completely forgot to mention they did a pedal analysis to show how efficient my pedal stroke is (it’s decently efficient) and the power balance. I was pretty beat up from yesterday’s training session (4hrs30mins of swimming/biking/running) but it was really useful. Again the feedback was given to me in real-time as I pedalled so I was able to internalise some minor changes to my pedal stroke. I had thought my left leg was weaker but was surprised to learn my right leg was doing less work. I have a PM that shows me power balance but always ignored them as I didn’t have an independent test confirming the numbers, but from now on I’ll be looking at them more closely especially on technique-bases bike session.

Reading back, I guess I have really sung their praises so lastly will leave you with the disclaimer that I have no prior relationship with these guys so this is about as objective a review as you’ll get.

Becoming a USAT Level 1 Coach

I was hoping to finish the year racing at the Ironman World Championships, but in a weird bout of circumstance I instead have a USAT coaching certificate to my name instead. The disclaimer is I don’t have my paperwork yet but I passed the USAT exam, got my CPR certificate and filled out the code of ethics form.

After returning to Hawaii from Sweden I had 4 weeks to contemplate all the best Ironman triathletes converging at the spiritual home of iron distance racing and how I would react. Predictably people asked me if I was there to race and I just told them I lived there and enjoyed triathlon too. I didn’t tell them that I was gut wrenched that I had pussyed out of the Swedish IM during the run and was just a spectator.

Whenever life hands you a lemon, make lemonade. I guess that’s what I did. I had spent the early part of the year coaching a friend to complete his first half ironman in Syracuse 70.3 and really enjoyed it. It is great seeing someone pick a goal, look for help on how to achieve it and get there together. Of course the athlete does all the physical work, but the contribution of the coach is often overlooked. The USAT coaching certification was on in Kona on the same week as the ironman. There was still space so I decided to sign up and see what I could learn from it.

It turned out to be a great experience. Some of the material on the course was a little basic but there was some good nuggets of information from some well-respected US Triathlon Coaches, coaching elite athletes. It was also a good networking opportunity meeting the speakers as well as the other coaches-to-be. The other students ranged from those new to the sport to those already with a portfolio of athletes as well as some pro and ex-pro racers. It made the race week lots of fun being able to hang out and grab a few drinks with those passionate about triathlon but didn’t have to worry about being in bed by 7pm and being 200ml short of optimal hydration.

So now I am on the brink of getting the official qualification papers and now I have to decide what to do. I don’t want to become a full-time coach, nor pick up paying athletes as a part-time coach. My job is reasonably stressful so I think I would rather opt for picking up a small number (1-3) of dedicated athletes pro bono and being able to service them pretty well; with the understanding that I work normal hours so at times I might not be able to answer their calls because I am in a meeting.

In any case, I want to continue my education and will pick up some more certificates over the next 24 months before I have to recertify. My biking and running knowledge is pretty good so perhaps I’ll look to swimming so that I can formalise my knowledge in those areas and feel more confident being able to coach across the board.

2014 Year in Review (from a triathlon perspective)

In summary, my 2014 year went as follows. Started the year a bit burnt out at work, just embarked on a new relationship with my partner in crime, Lindsey, strained my back trying to squat a stupid weight and couldn’t train for 2 months, took 6 months off from work and lived in Hawaii, did a bunch of races – none to the performance I had hoped for, came back to the city to live and work. From a race perspective, it wasn’t a great year yet I know that I finish 2014 in the best shape of my life and if I keep healthy and keep training 2015 will be a breakthrough season for me. From a personal perspective it was one of the best years of my life. I lived in paradise for a long portion of the year, travelled to a bunch of new places and had so many new and great experiences. Below outlines the racing layer of my life during 2014. There is so much else to document that it’s too daunting to start it.

Race Results:

Syracuse 70.3. Finished in ~4:43. This was a good result for me. I flew back to NY from Hawaii to do the race because I had signed up a friend to do it while he was steaming drunk one night. He was about 260lbs and couldn’t run for 15 minutes at the point he signed up so I coached him through to a successful completion of the race. It was great to witness a transformation like that. My own race result was pretty solid. I had raced Might Montauk in 2013 in about the same time which was a flatter course so I was happy that 4:43 represented a PB even if it wasn’t my quickest absolute time. It was also a reminder that I needed to improve my swim, coming 343th out of the water and then pulling myself back to 124th at the finish. It was also my first race of the season and back from injury so I felt I raced well within myself. It was a good sign.

TriAthlone Half Iron, Ireland. Finished in 5:03. With hindsight this race was a mistake. It was 2 weeks out from my A race but I wanted to get some racing in before I did the full distance. There wasn’t much in the way of racing in Hawaii (Honu 70.3 was already sold out by the time I decided to move to Hawaii) so figured this would be a good dry run. The day was cold and windy and I took it easy the whole day racing by feel. I was cold getting on the bike and never really warmed up and was miserable for the whole bike ride. This was at the end of a hard 3 week block of training and I was beat up. For the run I went out at my ironman pace and it felt hard. I wasn’t breathing heavily but my legs were just really heavy that day. I ended up chatting to another guy for the whole run and finished feeling okay and satisfied that the run pace was suitable, just hard because it was at the end of a training cycle.

Ironman Sweden. DNF. After a 2 week taper from Triathlone I was starting to feel really strong. An hour didn’t seem that out of the question for my swim split but after really soaking in the course I lowered my expectations a little. It was a technical course with 7-10 90 degree turns so I ended up swimming wide on all the corners and swimming at my own pace with no drafting. I finished in 66 minutes which I think is reasonable. The bike course was windier than I had expected (the kite surfers portended the conditions in the days leading up to the race), but I finished in 5 hours. I had finished Florida in 4:50 the year before and had expected to go quicker but on reflection the course was windier and by no means hilly it was slightly undulating towards the end. I got off the bike feeling fresh and strong so even though it was slower I could feel the progress from Florida when I was really struggling to maintain power on the tail end of the bike. T2 was marked by a stop and go penalty for taking my helmet off too early. Unfortunately the guy who served me the penalty didn’t know how I should serve it which was frustrating and I lost a minute or two extra but it was a lesson in how not to lose concentration going into transition. The start of the run was met with heavy showers but I felt great, my cadence was high, my pace felt comfortable and I was mentally strong. I was spotting victims in the distance who I would chase down over a couple miles and then go on the hunt for another. I started passing some of the pro women which was the first time that has ever happened for me. Unfortunately at the 12 mile marker or so I started feeling dizzy and capitulated completely. I walked for a bit and then started telling myself how I wasn’t going to qualify for Kona now, so I might as well give up, which is exactly what I did. The regret of taking that out will serve as motivation for all future races to keep pushing no matter how difficult it feels.

ITU Amateur Worlds in Edmonton, Canada. Finished in 2:17. This was 2 weeks after Sweden. That was another calendar mistake that I won’t make again. I signed up to this after Sweden and did it because I realised that competing for Ireland wasn’t out of reach. Given the fairly low number of competitors willing to travel to Canada I was able to get into the team despite not having raced an Olympic for 8 years, followed by a 6 year absence from the sport! I did a road trip from NYC to Edmonton (it’s far) and while on that road trip I managed to pull a muscle in my right calf. I guess my calf wasn’t used to the volume of driving I was throwing at it. It was a great road trip but not ideal preparation by any stretch. Again I learnt that my swim was not up to scratch, coming out of the water practically alone after 1500-1700 metres. I was happy with the bike, just going by feel, ocassionally pushing up the hills a little too hard and other times not timing my gear shifting well enough. That’s another point to work on for next year! During the run my calf injury really showed up and I was moaning to myself and grunting the whole way through. I had to finish though given my DNF 2 weeks earlier and I had an okay run considering. It’s a marker and should I be able to go back to do the ITU worlds again I’ll be looking forward to having a time to smash.

Navesink 15k. Finished 6th overall in 59m something. This was hilly and part-paved race. I started the race with no ambitions other than to start easy and then build into a maintainable pace and hold good form the whole way round. I had just come off a recovery week and had done 2 training blocks with more intensity (e.g. hill runs, 6x3min efforts, etc) compared to my Hawaii Ironman training. At the start of the race I was immediately passed by about 100 people but as the race wore on I realised that I was being overtaken on the uphills and then passing people again on the downhill. I was trying to smooth my effort like I would in cycling. After a while I realised there was a cyclist in front of me and at the turnaround it dawned on me that I was in the front pack. I didn’t pay much attention to my heart rate but it was in high 170s and low 180s for the whole second half of the race (I didn’t look on the front half). My breathing felt controlled and the lactate levels in my legs weren’t spiking too high. I felt great. I was passed near the end by the leading female and decided to tuck in behind her and let her pace. Near the end I still felt good so went hard on the last 400-500 metres to retake that position. I had never run sub 40 minutes in a 10k so to go faster than that in a hilly 15k was a huge breakthrough.

What I learnt:

1. Coaching yourself and training full time takes up more time that you can imagine. While in Hawaii I had illusions of learning French and the guitar. In reality my energy was spent putting together training plans, trying to objectively measure my own performance and make changes. That objectivity is difficult. Due to my low energy levels on hard weeks I didn’t really have energy to go on adventures as much as I otherwise would have, and instead spent time stretching, hanging at the pool or doing strength work.
2. Injury Prevention Plans are a must have for long term success. I wrote down every notable injury I had over the previous 24 months and what the PT gave me to overcome it. I did full body stretching, myrofascial release (foam rolling), massage and strength training. It worked. Despite upping my volume from 7-12 hours per week to 20 hours per week I didn’t have a single serious injury. When something started to hurt or ache I would get a massage which would help me understand where the sore points were and act accordingly, whether that meant toning down intensity, stretching more, or simply taking a couple rest days (which I’d normally spend hiking instead!).
3. A flashy TT bike doesn’t necessary make a huge difference to times. I rode an S5 with clipons in Florida and in 2014 bought a P5. They are both fantastic bikes. My speed didn’t change much based on the equipment at all (same wheels, both di2, same PM, gear ratios, etc), although my comfort levels definitely increased a lot on the P5, ESPECIALLY in the cross winds. If I ride my road bike with old winter wheels I will notice the difference. The difference between the S5 TT position and the P5 isn’t immediately noticeable.
4. Living in Hawaii is a great place to train, but not a great place to race. There simply aren’t enough races there (basically there is Honu 70.3 and Ironman WC) apart from very short distance racing. There are lots of great races (e.g. the Peaman events and the bike races by the Hawaii Cycling Club) but in the core of the Northern Hemisphere’s triathlon season there isn’t enough demand for big events.
5. Lots of long slow distance is great for building a great aerobic engine but on it’s own it isn’t enough. I mainly trained long and slow all year. I got some intensity from masters swim sessions but most of my biking and running was all Z2. Even when I was doing hill repeats I rarely went very hard. Now I believe that if you already have a great base under your belt you need further advances with HARD efforts. Now I have that base I will try to incorporate the intensity to see further gains in 2015.
6. Racing an ironman is very different to doing an ironman. My mental approach leading up to Sweden had all been very positive. I left notes for myself around the apartment reinforcing my race strategy and reiterating my preparation I had done. I thought I had the mental side nailed. How wrong I was. I went to Sweden not having put myself in the hurt locker enough and therefore didn’t have enough strategies on what to do when things got tough and there was something on the line. There were plenty of hot and windy days on the bike in Hawaii but there were many points I would stop rehydrate, cooldown a little then psyche myself back up to get onto the bike again. You can’t do that in a race. You have two options: stop and miss your target; or; keep pushing through. In 2015 I’ll need more tools to help me take the second option.
7. Ignoring the data is more fun. After Sweden I still had 2-3 months left before returning back to NY. I kept the record button on, but I did everything by feel for the rest of the season. It was much more fun. When I went hard on the bike I would go much harder and if that meant the easy spin afterwards had to be exceptionally easy, then that was great. Sprinting all out to get to the next lamp post is more fun than watch-watching keeping a power number in it’s optimum zone. My training plan for 2015 will still have lots of data recording but I’ll start paying more attention to the numbers as I get close to a key race. In other words, I won’t let the data hold me back. Instead of getting off the bike and looking at average speeds/power I’ll get off and stretch. I’ll be better served.
8. Swimming can be fun. It took months of swimming in crystal ocean waters with dolphins and at the best masters club known to man, but I finally learnt it. NYC is cool but the pools are often crowded and you can’t always force your workout into a specific environment. The open water swimming nearby is very seasonal and not as convenient. In Kona there was a friendly group with a rich eclectic mix of swimmers of different personalities and abilities. Everyone was welcome and it was fun being out in the sunshine hanging in the warm pacific breeze air drying afterwards. On open water swim days I’d jog 5 minutes to the pier and swim whilst on the lookout for dolphins. Amazing. I’m bringing this attitude of swimming back with me. Now I look forward to swimming and if I haven’t felt the water for 2 days I really miss it. I’m learning to flip turn and do the butterfly stroke. Learning something new is really fun.
9. A careful blend of intensity can do wonders. In November I started my next season for triathlon. I had a long rest after Canada and did intermittent training from then onward, holding onto my base. Now I’m about 8 weeks into a lower number of hours/week training schedule (10-12 hours) but with much more variable intensity. It’s still lots of aerobic work but I have one killer swim, one killer bike, and one kill run workout each week. If I start all of those sessions feeling good and ready to give it my all then i know I’m in great shape. Between those and my long slow distance training at the weekend I am already seeing benefits. My run speed has really start improving.
10. Representing your country is a huge honour. It was not one I had ever expected to do and even though I’m not a front of the pack racer yet it was great to be among sporting legends like the Brownlees and Gomez even though we didn’t even race on the same day, or even course. I want to go back and prove to myself that I belong there and that I can put down a solid time on a stage like that.

Saddle Sore Protocol

Saddle sores are horrible beasts that can ruin bike training for periods at a time. I used to have the tendency to ignore them and let them go away at their own rate, pushing through any discomfort. It got to a point where I had a consistent saddle sore that wouldn’t go away and I had to stop cycling completely. Since then, that same spot has been prone to more saddle sores. Although I’m still experimenting with mitigation and solutions here’s what I find so far.

Prevention is better than cure. Many webpages already detail how to try to avoid saddle sore: changing shorts once you finish the ride, washing immediately afterwards, using chamois cream, good quality cycle shorts, use materials that wick moisture away from the body, etc. Here I’m detailing what I do when I already have one.

I come out of a ride and sometimes I’ll feel the area getting sore during the ride. When I get home I’ll wipe my undercarriage with a piece of cotton wool doused in rubbing alcohol. I can tell how bad the wound is from how much it stings. If it stings a lot then I know it’s an open wound and if it doesn’t sting at all then I know it’s much less of a problem.

From there I’ll clean then wound (a long soak in the bath is my preference, but a shower, or even baby wipe will do). Once clean I’ll dry myself, ideally with a hairdryer so that the area really drys off. If I just towel dry I find that there is residual moisture leaving a fertile zone for bacteria and fungus to go wild. Once dry, I’ll baby talc the area to soak up any remaining moisture and my taint gets sweaty later then the talc will absorb some of it.

Now I’m confident the area is dry. I’ll use a antibacterial and antifungal cream on the wound to dry to kill off anything that can cause more damage. Now I have to put my clothes back on and hope that there is no chaffing. No matter what ointments/creams I use, if I put on some ill fitting underwear I’ll be in pain for the rest of the day. If it’s that bad, I’ll use a tough strip bandaid to cover the area and avoid more abrasion. If it’s really bad I’ll use a foot corn patch (i.e. a soft patch with a gap in the middle) and put it on. This really helps if the wound is very bad. However at night when going to bed I’ll take it off and try to air the wound to help it heal.

For subsequent rides I’ll use DZ Nuts compared to my normal Chamois Cream and perhaps try to ride with bandaids on the area, or do rides where I am predominantly standing. Even if I can sit okay, I’ll make a point to stand often to air out any sweat buildup and take pressure off the wound.

Every day I’ll follow that same protocol until the wound goes away. I think because of my past neglect, now when I get one it seems to take ages to go away.

It may be a little too much information, but at one point I shaved my taint carefully so that I could put bandaids on the area more easily. This turned out to be a huge mistake. The irritation became more widespread as the hair follicles started to come back through again and I wasn’t prepared to shave day in day out to keep it smooth.

Lastly I have tried taking supplements such as Grapeseed Extract but I don’t know how much difference it actually makes. My girlfriend said that lots of girls use Grapeseed Extract to help them get over fungal infections with their lady bits.

Happy journeys!