After missing out on most of the Duathlon's bike leg due to a puncture, I decided to do two 5km Time Trials at the Velodrome just to see what sort of form I was in, and also to get some riding time on the new Tri-Bike.
I put training wheels on and wore a normal road helmet, as this is how I've performed all my TTs in the past. The session was very simple, 5km warmup, 5km TT, 5km recovery, 5km TT, 5km cooldown.
Usually at this point of the season my TT avg speeds would be around 38 & 36kph. But on the new bike they were 40.6 and 39.2kph (power was 304 and 295 watts). I don't believe I am in any better form that usual, I think the new bike is simply that much faster. Previously I only had a road bike with tri-bars, and going by this test, a tri-bike has meant an extra 2kph.
I am now really looking forward to the next race.
Monday, 8 August 2011
Duathlon - Knox
Neither Elaine nor I were in good condition. I had only been back running for 2 weeks, and Elaine had done even less. But last year I kept on waiting until I had fitness before entering a race and ended up missing every Duathlon. So I figured we would just do the races and see how we went. Plus I'd also strongly suggested to one of the athletes I was coaching, Jan, that she do the Duathlon, so it would be good for us to be there and give her some support.
I ran the first 5km in 21m28s which is about 2 mins off my best, but I was pleasantly surprised to be able to run that well off such a tiny running base. I was just over a minute behind two mates from the Triathlon Club, Courtney and Peter and wondered if I could catch them on the bike leg.
This was my first ride of the new Tri Bike, it was raining and the course was very technical with heaps of corners, so I took it very easy on the first lap. The bike handled really well and I decided I would push a little harder each lap, unfortunately just near the end of the first lap (of 5) I got a puncture. The new bike had looked so beautiful I had decided not to hang anything off it (like a spare tubular), so the puncture meant the end of the race. Sadly Jan also suffered a puncture and like me did not carry a spare.
Elaine was lucky with a weak field in her age group and scored a win, whilst Courtney and Peter did not share the same luck and both finished 4th.
I ran the first 5km in 21m28s which is about 2 mins off my best, but I was pleasantly surprised to be able to run that well off such a tiny running base. I was just over a minute behind two mates from the Triathlon Club, Courtney and Peter and wondered if I could catch them on the bike leg.
This was my first ride of the new Tri Bike, it was raining and the course was very technical with heaps of corners, so I took it very easy on the first lap. The bike handled really well and I decided I would push a little harder each lap, unfortunately just near the end of the first lap (of 5) I got a puncture. The new bike had looked so beautiful I had decided not to hang anything off it (like a spare tubular), so the puncture meant the end of the race. Sadly Jan also suffered a puncture and like me did not carry a spare.
Elaine was lucky with a weak field in her age group and scored a win, whilst Courtney and Peter did not share the same luck and both finished 4th.
Initial plans for the season
With the 2011/12 season upon us, I decided to do a Long Distance triathlon (2/80/20) in Geelong. My previous 2 HIM attempts had seen me really struggle towards the end of the run and I thought the slightly shorter distance might go in my favour. Not that I was expecting to get anywhere near the age group podium, I just wanted to be able to finish the run strongly and post a good time.
The HIM at Torquay in April had left me with boney bruising in the knee due to patella tracking problems. It had taken 3 months to get back to running, but I was confident I now had this under control and would be able to clock the mileage required for the long distance triathlon in Feb 2012. Plus we had both just bought new road bikes and I also got a new triathlon bike, so I was eager to find out how much faster I could go.
Elaine had been taking it easy triathlon (and training) wise over the last 2 years. Some of this was due to illness, and some of it was just to have a break. However she was now keen to get back into it, and had picked the Olympic Distance race at Geelong (same day and location as my Long Distance) as her target race for the season.
The plan was do Sprint Duathlons in winter and Sprint Triathlons in Summer as lead up races to our target event. We might also do a 10km fun run in October, I didn't believe either of us would be in good enough condition to do the Half Marathon at that point.
Elaine had been taking it easy triathlon (and training) wise over the last 2 years. Some of this was due to illness, and some of it was just to have a break. However she was now keen to get back into it, and had picked the Olympic Distance race at Geelong (same day and location as my Long Distance) as her target race for the season.The plan was do Sprint Duathlons in winter and Sprint Triathlons in Summer as lead up races to our target event. We might also do a 10km fun run in October, I didn't believe either of us would be in good enough condition to do the Half Marathon at that point.
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