It’s good to look back, but not too far
Reading my last blog entry, it’s almost a distant memory since I had so much pain in my hamstring tendon that I could barely sit in a meeting at work without reaching for the pain killers. It’s wonderful to reflect on how much things have improved since December.
I’m incredibly grateful that I’m heading into my 11th Ironman, and although for a long time, I was ready to be walking most of the marathon, I’m now pretty confident I will not only run it (with short walks in the aid stations), but I may even have a reasonable run in me. And yet, we can be so quick to cast that gratitude aside, and start wishing for more, or gazing wistfully at Facebook memories of yesteryear, and personal bests.
A quick recap
I’ll quickly recap the past 6 months, which have absolutely flown by.
Determined to do something proactive about the hammy and glute issue, I joined a Fitness First gym on New Year’s Day, and having seen how well the hammy had responded to the strength work in the gym on our cruise, I made an effort to get in there and do eccentric single leg hamstring loading exercises daily. I signed up with a personal trainer, Paul Stemp, for a weekly PT session, purely focusing on glute and hamstring strength. I also signed up for Physio-led Pilates classes at Core performance physiotherapy near Armadale station. The Pilates had a right-sided extension focus, and Paul replicated or complemented many of the Pilates exercises in my PT sessions. Both of these would be easy to get to before or straight after work, which meant I was confident I could stick to the rehab program.
Slowly but surely I was getting stronger, and could do more exercises with less pain in my hamstring. Meanwhile, I was slowly building my running, mostly as run / walks, no hills and no speed work. Not ideal for a hilly marathon like Boston, but I just wanted to get through it, under the 6 hr cutoff (you can’t walk a whole marathon in 6 hrs, so I knew I’d have to be running some of it).
I did get through Boston, and actually had a pretty good first half marathon. The hammy wasn’t too bad, although the glutes still failed way earlier than I’d have liked. I ended up walking the final few kilometres with my best friend, who wasn’t feeling well and I think this saved me from setting my recovery back. Had I pushed that last part of the marathon, I think I might have ended up in a similar state as I was in after the 70.3 world champs last year. And that wasn’t the plan! My Boston time was by far my slowest marathon, including all my Ironman marathons, but I didn’t care. I got to do one of the most iconic races in the world with my best friend, and had come through it without making my injury worse. Mission accomplished!
One injury leading to another
Really, when I finish a race, I need to ban myself from thinking about the next event for a week at least! Two days after Boston, I borrowed a bike (a beautiful, brand new one) and went for a 2 hour-plus ride in the Massachusetts countryside. Why not? I was keen to start getting back on the bike, with Ironman Austria only 11 weeks away. Of course, although I felt like I hadn’t pushed the marathon as hard as I might, my legs were incredibly stiff. Especially my quads, from running the first 8km downhill (and faster than I’d run for about a year). I didn’t push at all in the ride, but the seat wasn’t quite at the right height and with the tight quads, that ride and another one 2 days later started a little niggle in my right knee (the same side as the hamstring issue). Long story short, this niggle became a real problem. It got to the point where I couldn’t push the bike hard, or stand up on the pedals. More physio treatment, an injection in the knee plus a double bike fit with Dr Mitch Anderson, and it slowly turned around. But it definitely stopped me doing the training on the bike
that I wanted to (or normally would) do.
that I wanted to (or normally would) do.
Work stress and illness to cap it all off
The wonderful career opportunity I was given with Dairy Australia back in August was not to last as long as I’d like. I don’t want to be negative about the experience, as I was able to take (and deliver on) a role that was more challenging than anything I have done before, or thought myself capable of. Unfortunately, at Christmas it was decided that there would be a restructure of my department. While there was a role for me in the new structure, it was not going to have the same scope or seniority that I had in the original role, and I did not feel comfortable accepting the permanent position. So I saw out the remainder of my contract to June and finished before I left for Europe.
My main goal for this year was to get to this race, happy, healthy whilst still performing to the best of my ability at work. I nailed number three. I can’t say I was happy all the time. Losing close colleagues to redundancy and working in a huge cloud of uncertainty takes its toll emotionally. But I genuinely loved the work, the pressure and the people. And I really felt, for the first time since I was a vet that I was making a real difference to farmers and their cows. So rewarding.
But I wasn’t healthy. There was huge stress. My resting heart rate was permanently elevated. There
were periods of insomnia, poor sleep and with 5 weeks to go to IM Austria, I developed some weird
gastric flu type illness, that lasted for 2 weeks. Basically every time I ate, I felt nauseous, and was lethargic, although there were no other symptoms. Dr Mitch gave me anti-nausea medication. We thought it might just have been some irritation of the stomach (maybe anti-inflammatory related? Or some kind of virus?). Pete was convinced it was stress-related, but I knew there was something else going on. I mentioned to Mitch that it was a bit like when I had Giardiasis in 2011, but without the diarrhoea. He suggested I take some anti-parasite medication, in case it was a parasite. Within 12 hours of taking the tinidazole (aka wonder drug) I knew I was better. I had energy back, and felt hungry for the first time in 2 weeks!
were periods of insomnia, poor sleep and with 5 weeks to go to IM Austria, I developed some weird
gastric flu type illness, that lasted for 2 weeks. Basically every time I ate, I felt nauseous, and was lethargic, although there were no other symptoms. Dr Mitch gave me anti-nausea medication. We thought it might just have been some irritation of the stomach (maybe anti-inflammatory related? Or some kind of virus?). Pete was convinced it was stress-related, but I knew there was something else going on. I mentioned to Mitch that it was a bit like when I had Giardiasis in 2011, but without the diarrhoea. He suggested I take some anti-parasite medication, in case it was a parasite. Within 12 hours of taking the tinidazole (aka wonder drug) I knew I was better. I had energy back, and felt hungry for the first time in 2 weeks!
And training? Well I tried to keep up a little bit, but it was all very light and easy (I didn’t have the energy to push) and I missed more sessions than I care to think about at that stage. Not ideal in an Ironman prep where I was coming back from a low base anyway!!
The one bonus was that during that time, I finally managed to lose some of the weight I’d been trying to drop for a year. I’ll still be doing this race heavier than I have ever been for any Ironman (about 68kg, vs 64kg for my last Kona), but that’s a lot better than 75kg which is what I’d ended up at in the New Year! I’m finally seeing my abs again. And slowly able to wear the 2/3 of my wardrobe that had to be packed away because it didn’t fit me.
Goals and predictions
Obviously the goal for Austria is to finish. That is still my number one goal for any Ironman, and has been since my one DNF in South Africa, 2014. But of course I think about HOW I might finish, and having some kind of goal is what has kept me training all these months and years. But I’ll prequel this next section with reiterating that I am honestly just relieved to be in a position to know that I can get through this race, and pretty confident that shouldn’t be too impacted by injury.
The swim
This was originally my one goal for this race. I wanted that elusive sub 60 min swim. In Frankfurt 2016, I came so close, with 1:00:40 and, follow another successful swim series last summer, I was
quite confident I’d break the hour. But the illness really set my swimming back. I need to be swimming at least 4 times a week, and doing hard sets to really be my best, and I wasn’t able to do
that at the critical time in this prep. But it’s not all completely lost. I did two 3.8km trial swims in the
pool in my wetsuit. The first, 7 weeks out was a 1:01:51 - great, I had time to improve. The second, 3 weeks out (and following the illness) was a 1:02:40.
quite confident I’d break the hour. But the illness really set my swimming back. I need to be swimming at least 4 times a week, and doing hard sets to really be my best, and I wasn’t able to do
that at the critical time in this prep. But it’s not all completely lost. I did two 3.8km trial swims in the
pool in my wetsuit. The first, 7 weeks out was a 1:01:51 - great, I had time to improve. The second, 3 weeks out (and following the illness) was a 1:02:40.
So, solo, and not tapered, if I can swim sub 1:03 then on race day, if I jump on a good set of feet, I
think I can swim around the 1:01 mark. I doubt sub 60 is realistic. Those few seconds per hundred are very hard to chase! But a realistic goal would be to go faster than I did in Kona 2017 (1:03) which was my second fastest Ironman swim.
think I can swim around the 1:01 mark. I doubt sub 60 is realistic. Those few seconds per hundred are very hard to chase! But a realistic goal would be to go faster than I did in Kona 2017 (1:03) which was my second fastest Ironman swim.
GOAL - sub 1:03
POSTSCRIPT NOTE - if the swim ends up being non-wetsuit as they are currently predicting, I may need to add at least 5min on that target
POSTSCRIPT NOTE - if the swim ends up being non-wetsuit as they are currently predicting, I may need to add at least 5min on that target
The bike
Well, the Team Coombe usual scenario has happened, and the flat, fast Ironman Austria bike course has been changed, and now has 1500m of climbing, with the biggest climbs after the 150km mark!!
The issues with my knee, and illness have meant that my longest ride in training was 135km (and that took me over 6 hours!) I had plans originally to go hard on the swim and bike, and then just cruise the run (given the hammy rehab). But I realised when the knee started grieving me that all bets were off, and this race will have to be about conserving, and trying to save something for that last 30km of the bike and the run (and the good news is I now have a reason to save something for the run). Positive progress in the past couple of weeks have meant that I could start to push hard on some rides, including the Wednesday morning St Kilda CC bunch ride, and I may have gained a little strength.
But I have to be realistic. This will be a long way off my best bike split. Originally I had hoped I might break the 6 hr mark (which I have only achieved twice, in 2011 at 60kg). Now, I just hope to beat my slowest bike split, which was my first Ironman, on a road bike with clip on aero bars.
GOAL - sub 6h 45min
GOAL - sub 6h 45min
The run
If you’ve read the last blog I wrote, you’ll remember that I was having huge issues dealing with the fact that my hammy injury, and subsequent piriformis syndrome had stopped me running “like me”. I couldn’t pick my knees up. I was shuffling, and every step was an effort.
The relief to now be able to say I am running “like me” again is so huge, I was reduced to tears
The relief to now be able to say I am running “like me” again is so huge, I was reduced to tears
recently because of it.
We spent 2 long weekends on the Gold Coast, in May and then again in June. The second of those weekends, we did a 5 plus hour ride, then a 30min run off the bike. Right away on that run, I felt like the old me. Unhindered, free, and straight into what I used to call my “tri rhythm”. You see, I have
been blessed all along with this ability to run off the bike almost as well as I run without the ride coming first. In fact to me it often feels better. Not so for the past 18 months though. Until that weekend. Now to put a bit more realism on it, when I raced Kona in 2017, those runs off the long
We spent 2 long weekends on the Gold Coast, in May and then again in June. The second of those weekends, we did a 5 plus hour ride, then a 30min run off the bike. Right away on that run, I felt like the old me. Unhindered, free, and straight into what I used to call my “tri rhythm”. You see, I have
been blessed all along with this ability to run off the bike almost as well as I run without the ride coming first. In fact to me it often feels better. Not so for the past 18 months though. Until that weekend. Now to put a bit more realism on it, when I raced Kona in 2017, those runs off the long
rides might have been 5 mins per km, or faster (even 4.45/km sometimes). This was nowhere near as fast as that, more like 5:15-5:20/ km. But the point is it FELT GOOD! I was running, no BOUNDING
over the bridge at Currumbin, at sunset with this HUGE grin on my face, and when I saw Pete at the end of the 30min, I burst into tears. I just can’t describe the feeling of relief, to feel like that running again, after so long being in pain or restricted.
over the bridge at Currumbin, at sunset with this HUGE grin on my face, and when I saw Pete at the end of the 30min, I burst into tears. I just can’t describe the feeling of relief, to feel like that running again, after so long being in pain or restricted.
Now I’m not so deluded that I think I’m suddenly going to pull out some incredible run in Austria. I still lack the glute strength over the long duration. But I have a historical rule of thumb, that the pace I naturally hold for my long runs when fatigued in the last few weeks of an Ironman build tends to be the pace I can hold on race day, if all goes well. And given that I will be holding back on the bike, I can probably apply that rule, roughly.
So what is that pace? Well firstly, I’ve been doing my long runs as 9 min run / 1 min walk, to give the hammy/ knee a break. So my overall pace is a bit slower than it would have been if I was running the whole way. But I’ll probably walk the aid stations on race day, so that pattern will hold true. And my last few long runs have been somewhere between 5:30 and 5:40 per km average. Which is somewhere around 3:55-4:10 for the marathon. I think sub 4 is a huge ask - I’ve only managed that
twice in an Ironman. But it would be great to beat that Boston time from April.
twice in an Ironman. But it would be great to beat that Boston time from April.
GOAL - sub 4:20
So adding it all up, and counting on my usual fast transitions (FREE TIME PEOPLE!) that gives me an overall total of...........Sub 12:15
But.........my first (and slowest) Ironman, in 2008 was 12:11, and I’d like to think, with experience, my base and my sheer bloody mindedness, I can beat that. However, I will not set myself back injury wise to do it. So, overall:
GOAL - 12:10 (unless it’s a non wetsuit swim!)
And then, it’s back in the gym to get stronger and even more resilient, so I can train and race to my
potential in Ironman St George, Utah in May 2020.
potential in Ironman St George, Utah in May 2020.
But first, the focus is on Austria, an epic trip around the World, with catchups with my family to boot!
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