Got the bus home this evening and when I walked up the end of my street I saw a few people looking out to sea. I turned around to see some whales breaching, so I ran home, grabbed my camera and managed to get a couple of shots. Spent the next 15 minutes watching them travel down the coast towards Bondi.

I’ve noticed that as my training weeks progress I get more and more tired, so that by the weekend I’m exhausted. This implies that I’m not getting enough food, but at the same time I’m not losing much weight, which implies that I am getting enough food. I decided to read up on post-exercise nutrition to see if I could be doing something a bit better immediately after exercising that would refuel me for my next session.

Turns out that there’s plenty written on the subject, though a lot of it is related to weight lifting and is more relevant to bodybuilders. However, there’s adequate evidence from endurance sources like Peak Performance Online (a brilliant training resource), CyclingNews and the Australian Institute of Sport which say essentially the same thing: that for an hour or two post-exercise your body is ready to suck up carbs to replenish muscle glycogen stores and protein to repair muscle damage. The guidelines recommend up to 1.5g of carbs (CHO) per kilo bodyweight, or to replace some of the CHO with protein (PRO) if you suspect muscle damage, eg: from weights or a long run.

Now the important part is you need to get the CHO and PRO into your bloodstream fast, so eating some lean meat isn’t going to cut it, as it will take two hours to digest by which time your optimum window is gone. So, for CHO you need maltodextrin powder and for PRO you need hydrolysed whey protein. Maltodextrin is very cheap ($10/kg) but the hydrolysed whey protein is a bit more expensive ($45/kg), though you need much less of it so it will last longer than the maltodextrin. The basic plan is to have 1.2g CHO/kg (102g) after a cycle in to work in the morning (about 1hr) and then 1g CHO/kg (85g) and 0.4g PRO/kg (34g) in the evening after a run. You mix it up in water (4ml/g) and drink half straight away then the other half after about 40mins.

I’ve ordered my stocks and I’m going to try it out and see if it makes any difference.

No training for the last two weeks, so got some catching up to do. At least I had two events instead, so I wasn’t completely lazy. Got the ferry in to work yesterday then cycled home. I had inteded going for a run but my legs were still a bit tired after the Gong ride, so I decided to wait until today before getting back into running. When I woke up this morning it was pissing rain, so that put paid to my cycle today.

I got my lunch-time swim in yesterday though, and while I felt really crap at the start of the session I was much better by the end of it. I’m restricting myself to 2km sessions at the moment to save my energy for running and cycling.

400 FS
100/200/300/200/100 FS, 15secs rest
300 Pull
4 * 25K/75 FS on 2:00 (1:35)
Total: 2000m

S: 2000m – B: 15km

Last year Citibank announced a product called Ready Credit, which is basically a credit card, but with the fancy feature of 4.9% interest on balance transfers until you have it paid off. No six month limit or anything. Since ING is paying 5.4% on their savings account, only paying 4.9% on a loan was a bloody bargain, so I signed up, transferred my outstanding balances and ditched all but my daily card. I never bought anything using the Citibank card (and chopped off the magnetic stripe so I couldn’t!) and just made the regular monthly repayment.

Today I get a letter saying that they’ve decided to introduce a $160 “credit facility fee”, payable on Dec 1st, but that if I spend $1000 before then I won’t have to pay it! That’s practically fucking extortion. Oh well, time to move credit providers.

Myself and Kevin met up this morning to do the annual Sydney To The Gong ride. As the construction of a new bridge is yet to finish past the Royal National Park, the route didn’t actually go to Wollongong, but turned back inland and finished up back at Sutherland. I rode from home to the start at St. Peters, then from St. Peters to Sutherland, via the Royal, then got the train back to Bondi Junction and cycled home from there for a total distance of 100.8km.

The first 30km of the ride were a bit scary as there were quite a lot of people who were riding all over the road, making it a bit dangerous trying to pass them. Once we got out towards the Royal things thinned out a bit and it was much better from then on. I’d never ridden in the Royal, and as it is quite hilly I was curious to see how I’d go. It turned out to be not as bad as I’d expected and while there were some long uphills they weren’t too much trouble. They were hard, but not uncomfortably so. Once I’d settled in to a good rhythm I was OK.

After reaching Stanwell Tops, the ride back to Sutherland was relatively straightforward. Undulating, but no serious hills. Even still, when we got to the end I was glad of the rest. Had a burger, kicked back in the sun for a while before heading home. Good fun.

B: 100.8km

The clocks went forward on Saturday night, meaning that I lost an hour of sleep. No big deal you say, so did everyone else. True, but everyone else didn’t have to get up at 5:10, meaning that I was effectively getting up at 4:10. I wasn’t too happy about that, but as Becs was picking me up at 6:00 I had no choice. Having loaded the bikes and gear in to the Pajero, it was off to collect Niall and Team BND was ready to hit the road for the TEVA Sydney adventure race (AR).

The event was being held in Belanglo State Forest, scene of Ivan Milat’s backpacker murders back in the early 90’s which was a comforting thought. I was unaware of this piece of trivia, but every Aussie I’d mentioned the race to commented on it straight away.

Myself and Becs had done the Kathmandu AR back in June, which was a two-person team event. This one required teams of three, so we drafted Niallo in as he’d previously expressed an interest. Having recently run a 3:28:59 marathon we figured he could be the pack horse for the team. As it turned out, we distributed the load fairly equally and he only had to carry a bit of nylon rope.

It had pissed down for our last race and we had hopes this one would be a little drier. I checked the rain radar in the morning and while it was raining lightly in Sydney, it looked like the rain clouds were passing north of the race location, itself 130km south of Sydney. However, there were plenty of grey coulds around when we arrived, and sure enough it started pissing rain shortly after the start.

The race was set up as two bike/run/bike legs, with a number of checkpoints throughout each leg. Some checkpoints were mere locations, where you looked for a coloured flag, and stamped your card with the punch hanging it. Others involved completing a challenge before receiving your stamp from an official. Challenges ranged from the bizarre to the straightforward, for example;

• Three Wise Monkeys Becs stood in an obstacle course, Niall stood 5 metres behind her, and I stood a further 5 metres behind Niall. The obstacle course contained a stuffed monkey, two small poles stuck in the ground, a toy crocodile, an upturned bucket and a broom handle. I had a card with instructions on it telling Becs what to do (see photo above). The instructions for Becs were roughly as follows;

  – Bend down on one knee and bow to the monkey god.

  – Pick up the monkey and place it on your right shoulder. It must remain there at all times

  – Walk around the left pole. You are not to touch the crocodile at any time, nor are you to step outside your team’s square.

  – Pick up the broom handle, and use it to manoeuver the crocodile outside the square

  – Walk to the upturned bucket and place the monkey on top of it

  – Bow down to the monkey god

  Now, this all sounds very easy. However, Becs had to wear a blindfold and I wasn’t allowed to talk, so I had to mime the instructions to Niall, who could then speak them on to Becs.

• VO2Max Blow up enough balloons to make a stack which touches a rope hung about eight feet off the ground (see photo above).

• Navigate on foot around an area to pick up 4 out of 5 checkpoints

• Build a sculpture using swimming pool noodles (flotation devices for kids to play with)

We failed our first challenge (throwing two eggs into a bucket of water without breaking them) and had to do a penalty run through an obstacle course to get our stamp. After that it was off on the bikes for a straightforward ride to a couple of checkpoint before ditching them for the run leg. The first run leg saw us being given a new map with five points marked on it. We had to visit 4 out of these 5 points using our compass and terrain-reading skills to figure out where to go. The first three were OK, but the last took up a bit longer, partly due to the map disintegrating in our hands due to the torrential rain.

Having compeleted that section we were then faced with a music trivia quiz/crossword before being allowed back on the bikes for some more fast riding between checkpoints to complete the end of leg one. This was when we had to complete the Three Wise Monkeys challenge mentioned above. We made a balls of the first attempt, and after completing a penalty run, we got through on the second effort.

Out we went on the second leg. The constant rain and copious mud was starting to take its toll on my bike and I was having awful trouble shifting gears without severe effort. My disc brakes were also squealing very loud in protest at all the gunk they had to deal with, so when we reached the last run leg they were glad of the rest.

This run leg involved copying the checkpoint from an official’s map, navigating to that checkpoint, stamping your form to prove you’d been there, then reading the next location off a map at the checkpoint, navigating to that and so on. After racking up four checkpoints it was back to pick up the bikes for the final bike leg. It was long, muddy and the crap weather was starting to piss us off, so I was looking forward to the end. We reached checkpoint 20 where we had to use our rope to carry a basketball, then throw it over a ten foot high rope, without touching the ball with our hands. That was the final obstacle and it was a fast 1.5km ride to the finish line, where we began stuffing our faces straight away at the post race BBQ. Our final time was 4hr43mins according to my watch.

Overall it was good fun, though I think we’re all looking forward to doing a race in the dry!

Update: The official results are out and we finished in 4:43:53, 19th out of 42 Mixed teams, and 34th out of 80 overall.

S: 2000m – B: 41.4km – R: 10km

Met up with Niall this morning for a few laps around Centennial Park on the way into work. Cycled via Military Road, Bondi, Bondi Road and then into the park via Queen’s Park and did a couple of laps before Niall showed up. We rode four laps together then I headed off into work while Niall stayed to do another lap. Total distance was 38.1km, and then another 10.2km on the way home this evening.

My lunchtime swim was OK. I was the only person there, so wasn’t that keen on doing a full session.

400 FS
100/200/300/200/100 FS, 15sec rest
7 * 100 FS on 1:45 (1:30)
Total: 2000m

My legs are still feeling good, so I got another run in after getting home. Did 5 laps this time for a total distance of 4.2km.

4.2km, 22:49.4
4:26.2, 142
4:29.0, 151
4:33.9, 151
4:37.8, 151
4:42.2, 152
HR @ 1min: 118

S: 4700m – B: 49.1km – R: 10.9km

I was supposed to hit the gym this morning, but didn’t bother after having a couple of beers at Hurricane’s last night. Got another good run in this evening though which I’m pretty happy with. No calf issues either which is a bonus.

3.35km, 18:13.8
4:27.8, 137
4:30.8, 148
4:34.5, 150
4:40.7, 151
HR @ 1min: 112

S: 2700m – R: 6.7km

I’ve been reading up a bit more on heart rate training and the general consensus for the aerobic training zone appears to be 60-75% of maximum heart rate. If you stay in that range, you’re working fully aerobically and won’t build up any lactic acid, so it’s ideal for long, slow distance work, which is what I’m doing (execpt I haven’t got to the long part yet).

The most accurate formula for determining heart rates without an actual test is the Karvonen Formula: x% HR = RestingHR + ((MaxHR – RestingHR) * x%), where RestingHR is your heart rate as soon as you wake up in the morning. In my case, my max is 190, my resting is 40, so my 60-75% zone is between 130 and 153.

I stuck those values into my HR monitor last night and went for my usual run around the local park. I’d previously thought that a HR of 145 marked the top of my aerobic zone, and when using that limit my laps averaged around 5:10. Last night I reeled off a 4:30, 4:36, 4:38 and 4:40. Not a bad return for only an extra 8 heart beats!

3.35km, 18:25.5
4:30.0, 141
4:36.5, 150
4:38.5, 151
4:40.5, 152
HR @ 1min: 116

After that it was off to Hurricane’s in Bondi for Joe’s birthday. I keep forgetting just how good their steaks are! Mmmmm! Delicious! Danny & Rachel were there too, and Danny had just proposed earlier that evening. Turns out that they’re getting married in Mount Maunganui the weekend after Graham’s wedding, so we might end up holidaying in NZ a little longer.

S: 2700m – R: 3.35km

My swim on Monday lunchtime wasn’t too great. I was still feeling a bit tired after the bike ride on Sunday, so was prett sluggish in the water. Luckily enough it was a fairly cruisey session. I think our coach is running out of ideas though, as she was stumped as to what session to put up on the board for us. I think it would probably help if she prepared a session before arriving and didn’t have to think itup on the spot.

400 FS
8 * 50 FS as {
    2 on 60
    2 on 55
    2 on 50
    2 on 45 }
400 Pull
3 * 3 * 100 on 2:00/1:50/1:40
400 Free
200 Pull
5 * 40 Kick on 1:20 (60)
Total: 2700m

S: 2700m

Myself, Niall and Kev headed off for a bike ride this morning, with the emphasis on doing a few hills. We drove out to Pymble and jumped on the train to our start at Berowra Waters. The train arrived in Hornsby and we sat there for a while waiting for it to continue on to Berowra, except when it did get moving, after about 15mins, it started heading back to the city. We were supposed to change trains! Oh well, jumped off at the next station, waited another 25mins for the train to Berowra to show up and finally got on the bikes, ready to start the ride, at 10:15, having left the house at 7:15!

With the show on the road, we spent the first few minutes flying downhill to the ferry at Berowra Waters, which we just missed. When we finally got to the other side, it was straight into the first of the climbs. I’d been a bit worried about the climbs, as it’s not easy lugging 88kg uphill, there were three decent climbs scheduled for the day and I’d had a couple of beers the night before at Craig’s birthday ;-) However, the first one put my mind at ease as it wasn’t too bad, and according to Kev and Niall it was the hardest.

After that it was another hour cycling through rolling countryside and down the switchbacks at Galston Gorge. We had a quick stop to adjust Kev’s gears before heading upward again to Hornsby Heights and continuing on to the Pacific Highway. We had debated yesterday whether we’d stop there, or continue on to Bobbin Head, but we were all feeling pretty good today so on we went for our third, and final downhill to Bobbin Head, followed by our third, and final climb of the day leading us back to Pymble and the comfort of the parked cars.

The stats for the day were:

Distance: 50km

Avg. HR: 101

Max. HR: 170

Avg. Speed: 22.4km/h

Max. Speed: 59.1km/h

Calories: 1577!

Yep, that’s 1577 calories (kcal) so I’ve been stuffing my face wtih pasta ever since I got home! ;-)

S: 2600m – B: 137.4km – R: 10.3km – Row: 5000m

Since my legs have been at me, I’ve been riding a bit more to make up for it. Both yesterday and today, I cycled in to work via Bondi, Bondi Road, a few laps around Centennial Park, Moore Park Road and Oxford St. then I cycled home yesterday as well. I was feeling pretty good yesterday, and thought everything was going great, but I was a bit tired this morning, so yesterday must just have been due to the day off on Wednesday. Ty and Dean are up from Canberra, so I’ll have to miss today’s swim session.

Update: just cycled straight home as it was a bit chilly and I was tired ;-)

S: 2600m – B: 87.4km – R: 10.3 km – Row: 5000m

My inability to run has come back and bit me on the arse again. My achilles/calves are still quite sore, so yesterday I decided two things. First, I’m not running today, and won’t be running again until the soreness goes away. Second, I’m going to revise my run training.

I read up on some run training philosophies yesterday and all seem to suggest that your long run is the most important run of the week, the one which produces the greatest training effect. My problem is that I can’t run for very long at all. My aerobic system is fine, but my legs aren’t happy with the pounding and having to carry my 88kg at a more rapid rate than walking. My lower legs are the weakest link, hence they’re bitching the loudest.

So, there are two problems. First, I’m too heavy, so I’ve got to get rid of some weight, which means upping my training volume. Running more is just counterproductive for the moment, so cycling will be the main focus for a while as it’s zero impact. Secondly, my “long” run is too long, or rather I’m building it up too quickly, so I’m going to knock that back to 5km instead of 7 and keep it like that for two weeks or so and then build up slowly. We’ll see how that goes. I’m also going to add another short (3.35km) run into the weekly schedule so that the overall distance stays the same, as my legs don’t complain after the short runs.

Got up yesterday morning and hit the road early, starting my long run at 6:20am. I’ve been reshuffling my program this week, so while I did my long run in Centennial Park the last time, it was just too much hassle to stop off there on the way in to work, so I stayed local. The route comprised a lap of Christisson Park, then down Old South Head Rd. to The Gap and back, then repeat the whole thing for a total distance of 6.9km in 36:58. I ignored the 145bpm HR limit and just cruised along, allowing my to hit 155 on the uphill bits. Felt pretty good throughout, apart from the last kilometre when my left knee was giving me shit. It was just a bit tight and a short stretch after finishing sorted that out. The middle of my calves is bloody sore now though. I’ll have to figure out if this is due to the run itself, or possibly me overstretching the calf/achilles after the run.

Went in to work and then to the gym yesterday evening with the intention of doing a 5000m row for time, then some weights. Myself, Marc, Tom & Dave all do a little bit of rowing on the Concept IIs as part of our various fitness things, so Dave suggested having a mini-competition within Fat Club where we’d all post our best rowing times for 500m, 2000m, 5000m and 10000m. I hadn’t done an effort for time since late-2002 at which point my bests were:

500m: 1:39.6
2000m: 7:35.0
5000m: 21:01.0
10000m: n/a

I had planned to start rowing at 2:00/500m pace and then see how long I could hold on for, but things went better than planned and I soon found myself averaging 1:57/500 and getting faster. I eased off a fraction at 4000m knowing I’d go for the sprint finish, then dropped down to sun-1:50 pace for the last 500m or so to record 19:14.2 and an average page of 1:55.4. I was bloody delighted with that as it was almost 10secs/500m faster than my previous best, and shows I’ve got a lot stronger/fitter over the last two years. My next target is more than 7500m in 30mins. I was bloody knackered after that, so I skipped the weights session.

S: 2600m – R: 10.25km – Row: 5000m

I’ve finished my week off, so it’s time to get back into regular sessions. I had an alright swim at lunchtime. Was still feeling a bit tired after the weddings at the weekend, so I skipped the last 400m of the session, as did everyone else for some reason.

400 FS
4 * 100 IM on 1:45 (1:33)
400 Pull
6 * 50 on 50
4 * 50 on 45
300 FS
8 * 50 as {
    2 on 60,
    2 on 55,
    2 on 50,
    2 on 45 }
200 FS
Total: 2600m

Got home and went out for a run. Couldn’t find my HRM so just decided to run at a comfortable pace and see what happened. I ran the 3.35km in 18:20, which is about 1:40 faster than usual but I still felt reasonably comfortable. I was also supposed to cycle yesterday but left the bike at home so we could go grovery shopping on the way home from work.

S: 2600m – R: 3.35km

Well it has been a week of weddings. Micky & Megan (photos) got married last Saturday week, Candice & Adam (Jacqui’s photos) were on Friday evening, and Katie & Mark (photos) tied the knot this Saturday. Congratulations one and all!

We had a traditional church ceremony, one in a beautiful old house and another aboard a paddle-steamer on the harbour, but the one constant was my new suit! I had to go shopping the day before Micky’s wedding as it became apparent that I did have to wear a suit to the weddings. I thought I might have been able to get away with smart-casual, but that idea was scuppered once Jimmy, Marty and Nathan admitted they were wearing suits, and seeing as how I no longer fit into my only previous suit (bought for Cliona’s wedding!) I had to shell out for another. I was doing my suit shopping the day before Micky’s wedding, and was a bit worried as I had just remembered that once you bought a suit there was usually a little tailoring to be done, but luckily enough the one I wanted happened to fit me perfectly straight off the rack. I grabbed a couple of shirts and ties and I was good to go.

After all the excitement of the weddings it was time to relax a bit, so myself, Billy, Lisa and a few of her friends went to watch Sydney FC beat Adelaide 2-1 last night. The weather was lovely, unlike the last game when it pissed rain, and the result was in our favour too. Adelaide looked like they had equalised at the last minute but the ball was ruled not to have crossed the line. Phew! We’ve now won three games in a row, and sit second in the table behind Adelaide. Next home gaime is against the New Zealand Knights in two weeks.

Der Spiegel has a long article on how Abu Chraib has altered two lives; one of a prisoner, and one of a guard. It’s a fairly detailed look inside what went on inside the prison. Given that the prisoner is sure that he’s the one in the famous photo of a hooded prisoner wired for electricity and standing on a box, it’s woth a read.

“Wake up! Wake up!” When Javal Davis walks through the corridors with his megaphone, all he sees are creatures, driven wild by rage and hunger, people who have nothing left to lose, who are as unpredictable as dogs, who have been driven into a corner and are capable of anything if you let them out of your sight for only a moment.

Right, just a quick round-up of the oustanding sessions. Cycled home again last night and did a few laps of Centennial Park a little faster than yesterday (7:34, 7:31, 7:29). It was pretty windy again though, so I was getting a fair old push at various stages.

Went for a run after arriving home. 4 laps, 3.3km, 20:33.5. I felt pretty tired throughout the whole run, probably because it’s the end of the week.

Lap1: 5:00.7, 139
Lap2: 5:05.9, 143
Lap3: 5:13.6, 143
Lap4: 5:13.6, 144
@ 1min: 109

Went out for dinner last night and had some vino, then crawled out of bed this morning to go for a 3km run with Jacqui. So, I’ve just finished my biggest week’s training in 11 months, and my third biggest week since I started this fitness thing. However, the two bigger weeks had quite a bit more swimming & cycling, and a lot less running, so I’m happier with this one as my running is pretty weak.

I’ve Micky’s wedding tomorrow so that will be a nice party, Monday is a public holiday, I’m off to Canberra on Tuesday for three days then back up to Sydney for two more weddings. It’s going to be a relatively quiet week training wise. Perfect for a bit of recovery ;-)

S: 6000m – B: 84km – R: 18.2km – W: 1 session

Did another ride around Centennial on the way home yesterday. Three laps, nice and easy. I timed them this time and averaged around 7:42 (29.42km/h) which is a little quicker than the last time I recorded a time. It was pretty windy, though since it’s an almost circular loop you’d expect the wind to cancel itself out.

Felt pretty good in the pool this afternoon as well. Our coach didn’t show up, so I ended up choosing what the session would comprise. Nobody complained outright, apart from chancing their arms to see if they could make me give them an easy session.

100/200/300 FS, 30s rest
6 * 200 FS on 3:30 (2:52)
4 * {
    100 IM on 1:45 (1:31)
    100 FS on 2:00 (1:35) }
8 * 50 FS as {
    2 on 45,
    2 on 50,
    2 on 55,
    2 on 60 }
Total: 3000m

I’m pretty tired now though. On a positive note, I’ve now racked up five consecutive weeks of decent training, and next week is a rest week as I’ll be in Canberra, so I’m looking forward to the extra sleep ;-)

S: 6000m – B: 56km – R: 11.9km – W: 1 session

Well I did my long run last night in Centennial Park and it went pretty well. I changed into my run gear in work and left everything there, apart from wallet, phone etc. which I carried in a small backpack. Hopped on the bus out to the park, and started running around 17:30. I was feeling pretty good apart from the usual crap with my right foot, but I decided to stick out the first lap before stopping to adjust my shoelaces.

The lap went by surprisingly quickly in 22:25.7 (AvHR: 142) with the usual HR limit in place. I stopped for about 20secs to fix my laces and then headed off on the second lap. This felt a bit better as I was getting into my stride a bit. Towards the latter half of the lap my legs were starting to feel it a bit, and I was noticing a bit of ITB tightness around my knees which I was expecting. The last 40% of the lap is a slight uphill gradient, and this time I kept bumping up against the 145bpm HR limit which was a bit frustrating, forcing me to slow down a bit, leaving me with a lap time of 24:08.3 (AvHR: 143). Total time: 46:34.0.

At this stage in the game it’s far more important for me to get the distance under my belt rather than tire myself out by going too fast, hence the rigid HR limit. Also, apart from the 10K Bridge Run I did with Jacqui over a year ago, this was the longest ever run I’d done outside (I’d done 7.5km on a treadmill once before) so I was pretty happy with that. My legs are feeling it a bit today, though they’re not too bad and, given it’s my day off training today, they should be fine tomorrow. So, I’m proclaiming Long Run Wednesday a success.

S: 3000m – B: 28.0km – R: 11.9km – W: 1 session