Paul's Page

My MRI experience

2006-09-07T11:54:00.000+10:00

Hello everyone!! Much has happened since my recent absence from the
blogosphere... I'll attempt to post up a few updates on happenings over the
next few days.

One of the major events was a hip/groin injury that I managed to get from
water-skiing (of all things!!). I did some water-skiing in the Pumicestone
Passage off Golden Beach (in Caloundra) - the first time I'd tried that in
about 20 years!! I had some serious right groin pain that just didn't go
away for a couple of weeks afterwards, so I headed off to see the physio.

The physio, after much flinging around of my leg, said that he thought it
might actually be joint pain in the hip. So off I went to see the sports
doc, who diagnsed a labral tear in the hip joint - which meant
arthroscopy!!! :( But to confirm this, I need to get an MRI &
arthrogram...

Had all my MRI stuff done yeseterday. The arthrogram & MRI were fascinating
- I was able to watch as they used the x-ray machine to stick the needle
into my hip joint and pump it full of dye, and it felt like my hip was
selling up like a balloon!! The MRI itself was easy peasy. They gave me a
set of headphones tuned into the FM radio station of my choice (JJJ), and I
lay there all relaxed while the MRI machine clunked and buzzed around me.

Best news was the outcome. The sports doc got me to waddle around while the
local anaesthetic was still working, which I could do painlessly. "Oh, I
didn't think you'd be able to do that..." he said... Then he did some
strength testing, which revealed a 20% deficit in lateral muscle strength in
my right leg.

After poring over the films, and talking to the radiologist, the verdict is
- its muscular!! Woohoo!!

Turns out I have ripped the bejesus out of 3 little muscles that cross under
my right hip, which he called the 'short external rotators'. Apparently its
an unusual injury to get, especially to the extent I've got it. But its
gonna be a case of physio, etc, rather than surgery, which I am totally
stoked about!! A big relief, and a huge weight off my mind!!

So what does it mean?? I can't run for 4 weeks - apparently its possible to
manage it if I have a big race or something, but I don't, so a 4 week break
is fine by me. Cycling is a-ok, which is the most important news to me!! And
if I do any swimming, definitely no breast-stroke kicks...

Now, I just have to call the physio, and let him know to make a downpayment
on his next BMW... *grins*

Short course specialist

2006-07-26T10:21:00.000+10:00

If only there was a bike race that covered my exact cycling commute!!
*laughs*

I had a super-quick cycle commute in today - I averaged 27.2km/h, and it
took me only 28:42 from my driveway (at Mt Gravatt East) to the basement of
my building in the CBD (that's riding time). I had a few slow-ish sections
too due to some road works, so I'm especially pleased with the quick time.

I actually got rained on briefly, which was a surprise!! I felt the rain,
but could only see blue sky - but directly above me, there was a smallish
group of grey clouds that had obviously found their mark...

Best news for me today is the total lack of any muscle soreness after
yesterday's run. Normally I have at least 1 day of soreness, but today I am
totally fine. The softer surface for the run was probably the key to this -
a lesson I won't forget!!

Consistency!!!

2006-07-25T16:14:00.000+10:00

I'm feeling very pleased with myself after last weeks effort. I've been
struggling with putting together a consistent week of training for a while -
not so much distances, but stringing together consecutive days of exercise.

Last week, I finally achieved my aim. On Monday, I did a 6.5km river loop
run. Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday, I cycle-commuted into work (which is just
over 30min each way). And on Thursday I had my first ever bootcamp
(generously organised by Tam).

I felt great at the end of the week, and very pleased with myself. Hopefully
I can keep this up and gradually increase the distances involved....

Dumb Doms

2006-07-19T06:18:00.000+10:00

I'm walking around today like I've been riding a horse!!!

My run yesterday (after about 2 months off) felt fantastic. A nice easy
effort that I seemed to cruise through with some decent form. However, the
DOMS monster obviously worked my legs over as I slept - I woke up this
morning with very sore legs!!!

Both my calves, and the top of my quads are sore. I'm going to assume that
this is just from the shock of having not being pounded for a while... To
help with recovery, I cycle-commuted in today at a slow, relaxed pace, and
I'll do the same on the way home this afternoon.

Hopefully my poor legs will recover relatively quickly!! I'm keen to get out
and run again, but I won't be heading out if there is still soreness from
yesterday's effort...

Back to the soft shoe shuffle...

2006-07-17T14:56:00.000+10:00

Back into running again today, and loving it!!

I had decided to head out for a lunchtime run today for my running return,
but was unsure what to do - a short 4.5km out-&-back along the floating
walkway, or a 6.5km river loop around the Story/Goodwill Bridges. Tam
complicated my decision further by suggesting a run around the gardens and
some drills up and down the grass riverstage hill!! Decisions, decisions...

After getting into my dodgy running kit, I walked down to the Riverside
Centre. I was feeling really good, and was almost jumping out of my skin I
was so keen to run!! So I decided then that I should make the most of the
good feelings, and do the 6.5km river loop.

I deliberately took it very easy, and focussed on a steady, relaxed pace and
keeping up as decent form as possible. I finished the loop off pretty well,
and ended up clocking a good 41min 30sec for my first run back. I feel
great, and am very happy to be back!!

Tapering for commute performance??

2006-07-12T10:15:00.000+10:00

I had last week off work, taking a week of annual leave to coincide with the
second week of the school holidays. I had an absolutely awesome time - spent
the whole week doing stuff with my wife & my two girls. And I was very sad
to be coming back to work this week!!!!

I didn't spend any time on the bike, plus I ate a heap of chocolate & corn
chips (yes, I was truly on holidays!!), and so I wasn't expecting much when
I saddled up on Tuesday for my first commute into work.

The ride in, though, ended up going very well. I averaged 26km/h
comfortably. About a year ago, I would've been pumped at such a fast ride,
but now this is my 'normal' speed for the commute. How times change!!! On
the ride home that evening, I decided to put a bit more effort in - and
cracked under 30min for only the 3rd or 4th time ever!!

Going back over my training diary, I've noticed that after any sort of
lay-off (whether it be because of rain or holidays or whatever), my commute
performance on return is almost always very, very good (for me, that is!!).
This doesn't seem to be right - even if the lay-off is the equivalent of a
'taper', then for such a short commute, you would think there was more risk
of detraining than actual tapering..... In the meantime though, I'll have to
try and work out what this means for when triathlon season rolls around in
summer.

Also, I'll be piling back into running again next week. I've been off it for
about a month for a variety of reasons (none too serious!!), and so will
start back into it with a couple of short lunchtimes runs to see how I go...

LA de femme

2006-06-28T09:41:00.000+10:00

After 10 days off the bike due to a week of rainy BrisVegas weather and some
early morning World Cup action, it was time to clip back into the pedals
again. The LA girls were doing a river loop this morning, and they
graciously allowed me to tag along... :)

So I was up at 5am, and headed out the door at 5:30 - it was so cold!!! I
warmed up reasonably quickly once I got going, but it was definitely one of
those cooler mornings. Fortunately, I was fully rugged up with leg warmers,
arm warmers, full gloves, and wind vest. Made it to the Goodwill Bridge meet
early for a change (I think the girls were in shock!), and we headed off
shortly after 6am.

Ride itself was uneventful - we kept up a steady relaxed pace, and finished
the circuit averaging just under 25km/h - a perfect comeback after my lazy
10 days off!! Plus the terrific company of the girls (Lotte, Tam & Karen)
meant it was a heap of fun! Finished the morning off with coffee and some
brekky at Southbank - all days should start like this!!

Final stats for the day - 47.5km dist, at 24.8km/h ave.

Neighbour warfare commences.....

2006-06-20T11:23:00.000+10:00

> Got home last night, and was cranky to see that my "kerbside compost"
> collection STILL hadn't been done. *grrr*
>
> However, the pile looked a bit different. Was it bigger?? Closer
> inspection revealed that someone had chucked another half-dozen or so palm
> fronds on top (*shrugs* that's OK, I guess) - but they were HIDING an old
> table that someone had pulled apart and hidden amongst the fronds!!!!
>
> I was pretty peeved about this. Its a green collection, ffs - they won't
> take it if there is any hard rubbish amongst it!!! *grrrrrrr* Went inside,
> and out into the backyard - to check if the old table that has been
> sitting in the neighbours yard was still there - and it was GONE!!
> Fsck!!!!!
>
> So I asked my daughter to come out the front with me to hold the torch (it
> was already dark - about 6pm??), while I pulled all the parts of the table
> out, then neatly stacked it all in the middle of my neighbour's driveway
> (so they wouldn't be able to get their car out this morning... *heehee*).
>
> I thought to myself while I was doing it, "I'm pretty sure Lotte would
> approve of this - but does that make it a good idea??" - but I did it
> anyway. ;-)
>
> Anyway, hopefully the unemployed housing commission fsckers won't have
> extracted revenge while I'm off at work today.... *grins*
>

Race Report: Murarrie Crits, on Sat 17/6/06

2006-06-19T11:30:00.000+10:00

On Saturday morning, I headed back out to Murarrie for another attempt at
the criterium bike races. I was racing in Cat 2 Div 2 (which is roughly
equal to D-grade).

Got there with about 15min to go until start, signed on and handed over my
$8. Tam was racing as well, in Cat 2-2, so I was pleased there'd be someone
else I knew in the race. I quickly unloaded my bike of unnecessary stuff
(lights, saddle bag, pump), and soon enough 8am rolled around for race
start.

The race was scheduled as 40min +3 laps. We set off, and I settled into the
front third of the pack. Looking around, I guessed there were maybe 20-25
other riders in the race, with almost a third of them females. My primary
goal was to finish with everyone else (ie. not get dropped!!), so I decided
I'd try and sit in the front third for as long as I could, and see how I
went.

As expected, the first 15 minutes had quite a few surges as the stronger
riders tested everyone's legs. I nearly got spat out a couple of times, but
gritted my teeth and was pleased to be able to hold on. A little later, I
even pushed forward and took a turn out the front!! I didn't hold a strong
pace or anything, but it was fun to ride in some clear air...

The whistle blew for the Prime (halfway sprint lap) at about the 25min mark.
I decided I'd try and stick with the 'sprint bunch' - not because I thought
I could win, but just to try and hold their pace, plus it would give me a
chance to hold on if someone tried to attack post-sprint. I was pleased to
make it around with the sprinters (although I was well and truly at the back
of their pack), and was relieved when they all sat up and waited for the
rest of the pack to come through.

At some stage (can't remember the timing), a small pack of 3-4 broke away
for a while. I was impressed that Tam was in that group - she had already
spent half the race taking turns up the front, and now she was in the lead
group!! However, after a few laps, the peloton caught up and sucked them
back in...

Eventually, after about 45min, the '3 laps to go' sign went up. I was stoked
to still be there, and resolved to stick it out to the end. Over the last
couple of laps, the pace slowed a little as the stronger riders played out
there strategies - I had my eye on two or three of them, and was ready to
jump on their wheel as soon as they started moving.

Sure enough, with half-a-lap to go, the move came. Around 10 riders jumped,
and I managed to stick onto the back of the group (woohoo!!). I pedalled
like crazy, stuck with them down the main finishing straight, and rolled
over the line in 9th spot.

So overall, I was very, very happy with how the race went. I was stoked with
my own performance, plus the race itself was a lot of fun, with everyone
racing in good spirit and none of the nastiness I've seen in some other
races. The 9km ride home up & down the hills of Creek Rd was pretty painful,
but the good result helped to numb that (almost!).

Final stats for the race - 36.5km/h ave, dist 31km.

Politeness, and an oddity...

2006-06-09T11:56:00.000+10:00

Last night, when I was riding home, a roadie dude (who was clearly much
fitter than me) sat on my wheel for a fair stretch of Logan Rd. Up the 'big'
hill to Holland Park, through the shopping strip there, and then past the
big park up to the start of the Zupps car yards.

He slipped past after that - no thank you or anything - and started to move
away. I was a bit annoyed (but mainly at myself for not being able to keep
up). But then, he turned around to see where I was, and slowed down to let
me grab his wheel!!! *gasps*

I was a bit shocked, and said "thanks!". And he said, "No worries, only fair
after I wheelsucked on all those hills!!". Left a big smile on my face for
the rest of the ride!!

---

Also yesterday, but in the morning. As I rode up the hill from Stones Corner
to join the bikeway, a girl in a "Spike Triathlon" uniform rode out from the
bikeway (going the opposite way).

She was riding a very unusual looking bike - one piece bright yellow frame;
no top tube, but a very large/tall vertical downtube (if that makes
sense??); with "Superbike" the only marking on it in small writing (oh, and
"Campagnolo" on the tube near the rear cassette).

Not sure if it was a fixed or single speed (didn't check), but it sure
looked pretty swish!!! A lot like the Aussie team track bikes from the
Olympics in previous years..... Cool!!

Searching for consistency

2006-05-22T11:35:00.000+10:00

While I have been putting in some good rides & runs lately, I haven't been
happy with my training consistency. The 'sessions' themselves have been
good, but I've only been getting out for 2-4 sessions per week, which I just
don't think is enough to make meaningful progress.

At the start of the year, I decided that this would be a year of
base-building. One of the things I was aiming for, was to develop the
ability to train for multiple days in a row - not needing to have a total
recovery day off after a run or long ride. I figure the only way to do this
is to be able to train every day in a week - which is what I will try and do
now.

So this week, I'll be aiming to do 'something' on each working day - Monday
to Friday. None of the sessions will be huge - I'll be sticking to a couple
of 6.5km river loops for my running, plus a few days of commuting on the
bike (with maybe one of those extended to a longer ride). But the main goal
will be to make sure I do something every day, so that the legs start to
learn how to back-up day-after-day.

I'm starting off today with a lunchtime run. Fingers crossed that on Friday
I'll be able to give an update on a successful 5-days-straight of training!!

Another PB - this time on the bike...

2006-05-18T09:51:00.000+10:00

Two PB's in one week, covering both running & cycling!!

This morning, I was supposed to head out for a bike ride - looping out to
Wynnum, and then back into the city. However some early morning showers and
wet roads put paid to that idea, and so after a brief flurry of texts to my
cycling companions, we cancelled. I was wide awake by then, and didn't want
to wake up my wife or kids by heading back to the bedroom, so snuggled into
the couch to watch the UEFA Champions League final between Barcelona &
Arsenal...

After the match, I suited back up into my lycra, and headed out the door for
a straight commute into the city. The trip itself was uneventful - a
straightforward 13km commute along Logan Rd, and then into the CBD. I
initially felt a little sluggish, but by the time I reached Stones Corner I
was thinking about how easy it was all going. I wasn't pushing myself hard
at all, but it seemed as if I was moving quickly and easily.....

After making it into the CBD, I headed down Adelaide Street and headed down
the driveway of my building to the basement bike racks. Checked the bike
computer and it read "13.05km; 28min 43sec; 27.2km/h average" - I couldn't
believe it, it was a new PB!!!!! Only the second time I've gone under 29min
for the commute, and the first time I've averaged more than 27km/h. I was
(and still am) totally stoked!!

Of course, I'm not sure why this happened. My riding mileage has been down
lately with my attempts to better my running. Maybe the running has given me
better leg strength, which helps me on shorter rides like my commute??

Injury prevention

2006-05-17T13:36:00.000+10:00

One thing that has been holding me back a little with my running, has been
my 'troublesome' calf muscles.

Back in December last year (I think), I badly injured my left calf just
after I started back into running. Ever since then, I have been troubled
with calf tightness and general soreness after longer or harder runs. And as
a result of that, I usually have to give myself a clear recovery period of
at least a day or two in between runs. It has been frustrating, and I think
it has stopped me from progressing more quickly to some sort of running
competence.

After yesterday's terrific lunchtime run, I was worried as to how long it
would take me to recover. I could feel a little bit of general soreness in
my left calf, but they didn't feel too tight. When I got back to work, I
decided to really focus on giving them a good stretch, and so I spent 10
minutes dedicated to calf stretching. They felt better almost instantly!! It
was a great result, and I will definitely be incorporating that into my
post-run routine from now on.

Last night, before bed, I decided to take further action. Even though my
calves were already feeling significantly better than normal post-run, there
was still a little bit of lingering tightness and soreness. So I put on a
tubular compression bandage over each calf muscle (I had them from the calf
muscle injury last year) just before bed, and slept in them overnight. The
end result being that today, my calves feel absolutely, 100% OK!!

I'm not sure exactly what worked best - the stretching, the compression
bandage, or the combo of both - but it worked. So from now on, I will be
ensuring that I stretch the bejesus out of my calves post-run, plus
experimenting with wearing my tubular compression bandages as well (post-run
only, not while running).

Lunchtime run breakthrough

2006-05-16T14:08:00.000+10:00

After missing out on doing my long run yesterday or today (due to having the
kids having school excursions and other stuff), I brought my running gear
into work today for a lunchtime river run, looping around the Story &
Goodwill Bridges.

I didn't do too much last week - just a long 13km run and a 50km bike ride -
so I wasn't too sure how I'd go today. I decided to take it out easy and see
how I felt. After leaving the Riverside Centre, I very quickly settled into
a good rhythm. I was running along at a healthy, relaxed pace and feeling
great!! I was a bit surprised, given my low volume previous week, but
decided to go with it and see how long it lasted.

The run itself was uneventful - after leaving the Riverside Centre and
running along the 'boardwalk', I ran up to the Story Bridge, crossing it on
the New Farm side. After ducking through the tunnel at the other end, I
descended to the Kangaroo Point side of the river, and ran along past the
Adventure Club, the Cliffs, and then up to the Goodwill Bridge. I gritted my
teeth as I headed over the GB, then turned right and ran through the Botanic
Gardens and back to the 'boardwalk, finishing back at the Riverside Centre.
According to the "Running Post" at the Southbank end of the Goodwill Bridge,
that's a 6.5km loop.

I kept up that strong but relaxed pace up right through the run, and when I
finished felt as if I could have kept going for another loop. So I was
stunned when I checked my watch and realised I had run 39:45 for the loop -
a PB, absolutely smashing my previous best by over 2 minutes!!!!

Ever since I started running this 'lunchtime loop' regularly, I have dreamed
of breaking through the 40min barrier. I knew I would do it one day, but
definitely not so soon!! I feel absolutely terrific, and it has given me a
huge motivational boost for my running!!

Pleasant early morning

2006-05-12T08:07:00.000+10:00

Well, it was a great morning for a ride...!! Woke up just after 4am. Not
long after, Caitlin (my 8yo daughter) came running out of her bedroom and
into the lounge room (while I was abluting in the loo), then went tearing
into our bedroom, where she shrieked, then ran back to the kitchen. I
stumbled out and asked her what was wrong, and she'd had a nightmare about
zombies - "Heaps of them, Dad!! They were everywhere! And then you weren't
in your bed, so I got scared, and I didn't know where you were so maybe they
got you!".

All pretty funny - I took 5min to calm her down a bit and tuck her back into
bed (love parenting!!), then back to getting ready.

Left home just after 0445, and headed along Cav Rd. First time I've ridden
along there, and the hills weren't as bad as I was imagining, which was
good. The chill on the downhills was a bit hairy though!! Traffic was pretty
much non-existent, and I rolled right into Old Cleveland, then left into
Bennetts. Up the hill and to the roundabout, then took a back street that
spat me right out at the corner of Lytton & Hawthorne Rds - 10km exactly!.
This is where I'd arranged to RV with Tam & Lotte for a loop out to Wynnum.

"Cool, I'm early for a change!" I thought... Remembered that I hadn't turned
my phone on yet, and it sprung to life with two waiting text messages...
Lotte wasn't feeling well, and Tam was sleeping in and had proposed a later
start. Couldn't reply to Tam as my phone was out of credit (I am an
idiot!!), so rode down Lytton Rd to the BP servo on Latrobe Terrace and
charged up. Texted Tam to let her know I'd go solo, and prepared to set off
again.

So what to do now?? I headed off to the city. Thought about heading across
the Story Bridge (then I'd be a MAN!!), but a 4WD shaved passed me on the
way towards it, and I lost my nerve. So headed along the top of the Cliffs,
and then around to Southbank. Went over the Goodwill and towards UQ, then I
checked the time, and it was almost 0600 - so decided to check out the Park
Rd bunches.

Arrived just before they left - a HUGE peloton of at least 60 people. Way
too big. I rode with them along Coro Drive, through Uni, and out to
Indooroopilly, but decided to bail. It was a very messy group, with riders
half-wheeling and weaving all over the place - an accident waiting to
happen!! So spun around at the bike bridge, and headed back to the City and
work.

45km all up, which was a nice mornings effort.

Pleasant early morning

2006-05-12T08:02:00.000+10:00

All pretty funny - I took 5min to calm her down a bit and tuck her back into
bed (love parenting!!), then back to getting ready.

45km all up, which was a nice mornings effort.

Longest. Run. Ever.

2006-05-08T09:08:00.000+10:00

Sorry, its been a while since I've been blogging - but work and family life
has been mega-busy over the last few weeks, so I've been flat out!! Luckily
though, I've still had time to fit in some running and cycling into the mix.

I decided that I needed to up the ante when it comes to my weekly long run.
I've been doing 2-3 'Goodwill/Story Bridges circuits' each week, which are
roughly 6.5km each. That's been good, but obviously not enough for my hopes
of achieving a half-marathon.

So this morning, I decided to start a new regimen - Mondays will be my long
run day, incorporating a long, slow run to work!! I live at Mt Gravatt East,
and so the run from home to work (in the Brisbane CBD) is approx 13km. At
least, my normal bike commute is that distance - I'll have to ride over my
exact running course during the week to get a more exact measurement...

Until this morning, my longest run EVER was 10km. So I was very, very
pleased to get through this mornings run. I kept a very, very slow pace
(around 7-8 min/km pace), and managed to run out the entire distance. My
legs felt great for the whole run, although they did start to feel a little
'pounded' as I headed through the Botanical Gardens. I'm not sure if that
was due to the paved path being very 'hard', or just my legs reaching their
limit - but in all likelihood it was a combo of both.

Not surprisingly, my successful run has got me all excited about achieving
my half-marathon goals. After some soul-searching, I had previously decided
to scale back my running goals for the year. Not because I didn't think I
could get through it, but more because I wanted to spend more time building
a solid running base without the pressure of trying to build quickly for a
race. But I must admit I'm now thinking of doing the Qld Half Marathon out
at Doomben, held at the start of June. Most probably I won't be ready, but
the thought is there, and I'll see how my legs are handling the longer runs
closer to the end of the month.

Race Report: Murarrie Crits on Sat 8/4/06

2006-04-10T14:15:00.000+10:00

I finally managed to make my crit debut for 2006 on Saturday morning, and
boy am I glad that I finally got there!! I had a great morning, and it
reminded me of how much I enjoy crit racing...

After a slow start to the morning, rode to the Murarrie circuit arriving at
7:50am for an 8am start - I don't like to arrive too early, but this was
pushing a bit much!! At least I knew my legs would be warm for the race...
Signed up for Cat 2/Div 2, and got myself organised.

Race started at about 8:05 - 40min + 3 laps, with about 30 people in the
field (by my rough count). Pace was very slow early, with the field taking
the first few laps at only 31-32km/h. I was sitting at the back of the front
third, and it seemed that no-one wanted to take charge up the front - but
eventually things got 'organised' and the pace picked up to around 38km/h.

Cat 2/Div 1 (equiv. to C-Grade) was on the course at the same time as us (I
guess we were equiv. to D-Grade), as well as Cat 3 (E-Grade??) - so there
were 3 packs circling around the 1.5km circuit. This had the potential to
get a bit confusing, and ended up making for some interesting times when the
packs were overtaking.

I had managed to keep a position around mid-pack, sometimes a little bit
more forward. The first time Div 1 passed us, the front riders in our race
sped up and tried to retake them straight away!! Luckily, being in the front
half, I was able to sit on their wheels as they headed passed. The peloton
split in two, and the 'chase group' had to work hard to catch back up to us.
A good tactical lesson for me (without the hard work!!) about staying in
touch with the front-runners.....

This same 'trick' happened again when Div 1 inevitably caught up to overtake
and the front riders pushed past again!! I was wondering if it was ego or
adrenalin - but at least their tactics were clear and I knew what would
happen each time!! We reached the 20min mark and the whistle blew for the
Prime lap. A guy in Credit Agricole kit took off straight away, but no-one
seemed keen to chase (definitely not me - I just wanted to finish with the
group!!), so he did a one-lap ITT to take the Prime - well done!!

Just passed 30min, and I was starting to feel the effort. We got passed
again by Div 1, and once again the leaders of our group took off - but I was
two-thirds of the way back in the pack and missed the jump!! So much for my
being super-aware of their tactics!! Lots of yells by people for them to
"calm down - let Div 1 go!!", but they took off.... So I was stuck in the
chase group - we all worked hard, and I even took a long turn trying to
bridge the gap back. Eventually we made it back on, which was very
satisfying (don't know what Div 1 thought of all this though - they must
have been getting dizzy!!).

The chase effort had knackered me a bit, and so I drifted to the back of the
field. I nearly got gapped off the back a few times, but thought there was
no way I'd let myself get dropped, so I gritted the teeth and worked to get
back up to mid-pack. Things felt much better once I settled into a rhythm
there and a quick drink plus a few more steadier laps had me back and
feeling good again. A few people were obviously getting nervous though, as
we had to drop two separate dropped bottles by the leaders (hope that wasn't
a tactic to thin the field!!).

The "3 laps to go" sign came up, and I was feeling very happy to be sitting
back up in the front third. The pace slowed again as people started looking
around and waiting for something to happen. Then suddenly we had reached the
bell lap and we were all still together!! I saw the guy in CA kit who won
the prime moving an inside line, so I jumped on his wheel as I figured he
might be a good bet to go at the finish... He moved up the front pretty
quickly, and so I was sitting at 2nd wheel heading down the back street,
halfway through the last lap!!!!!

I soon discovered the tactical problems with this though, as I couldn't tell
what was happening behind me. Who was gonna jump?? As we turned the corner,
about 6-7 riders went flying past. Luckily, I was able to jump onto the last
of them, and the pace went berserk as everyone else tried to come with us. I
was happy to be holding their wheels, but had no more speed to add for a
final finishing sprint..... As we came down the final straight to the line,
two guys in front of me went all "Robbie vs Stuey" and started leaning all
over each other - so I sat up and backed off just in case, and cruised over
the line in about 10th place (although I don't think I would have made up
any places if I'd sprinted any further!!).

Final stats - 31km at 37.4km/h average. I had a very fun morning, and was
stoked with my efforts. It was great to be an active participant in the
crits for a change, instead of just hanging tough at the back trying hard
not to get dropped!!!

Wondering where to go...

2006-04-04T11:29:00.000+10:00

Well, I don't think you'd call it post-event blues. But maybe just a mild
malaise.... Its been a week and a half since Mooloolaba. I've only been on
the bike once since then, and that's it. The race knocked me around a bit,
and so I have been careful to allow myself a full recovery period so I don't
get any post-race injuries.

So now we are into a bit of a weird period for me. Looking back at when I
used to train in my previous life (8-12 years ago), autumn/winter was a
period of basically zippo training. I would aim for a big race around
March/April, and then shelve the bike and all other training until
September/October. And then start all over again!!!

I look back now at that and shake my head. I really enjoyed the training,
but I do wonder how well I could've gone had I trained through the triathlon
"off-season" and hit just one summer with 6 months of work behind me,
instead of starting from zero again.

So I find myself here again. Even after a decade off from the sport, I think
my body remembers!! "Oh, we've just worked hard and made it through
Mooloolaba. That means beer, corn chips and couch for the next 6 months...".

But things are different now as well. I'm 'training', riding and running,
for many more reasons than before. So mentally, I am instead planning on how
I'm going to structure the next 6 months. I know I'll be riding heaps. And
I'll be seeing how far I can bring my running in that time. With my "slow &
steady" build-up, will I have done enough to go for a half-marathon in June
or July?? And will I be ready to have a shot at a Half IronMan later in the
year??

I'm heading out for a lunchtime run today, to officially mark my 'return to
training' post-Mooloolaba. Its a strange place to be. I've achieved
something - finishing Mooloolaba - that 6 months ago seemed like a laughable
goal. And now, instead of resting on my laurels, I'm going to keep going and
try and focus on some more laughable goals - a half-marathon, a half-IM, and
going sub-3hrs at Mooloolaba next year. I've never been here before. But its
an interesting place, and I think I want to explore it for a while.....
Another interesting adventure beckons!!

The Longest Day - my Mooloolaba Tri Race Report!!!

2006-03-29T13:03:00.000+10:00

Paul GUARRERA 30-34 Male 3:10:34 0:31:23 1:28:53 1:10:16

Yes, I finished!!!! Had an awesome day, and was totally stoked with the
result....

1.5km Swim - 0:31:23
Swim was moved from the beach to the river - due to huge surf thanks to Tropical Cyclone Wati - so it was a triangular course in the river bend behind Mooloolaba Wharf (where Underwater World is). There was a HUGE tidal current sweeping around that bend, which
made navigation pretty tricky.

After watching all the other individual waves go off, and seeing them
all swept to the left, I swam way out to the right hand side. A bit too
much though, because I almost missed the first RH turn!! I went 10m
passed it *doh!*, and had to swim back against the current to get back
to it. Got bashed a few times around the buoy, but then got back on
track. Missed the final buoy as well, for another 10m swim against the
current, but I figured I was getting my money's worth... *grins*, and
was pleased to finally make it out of the water. Time was slower than
anticipated, but I was feeling OK.

T1 - approx 0:07:30
A long T1 time - but that was due to the 500m (yep, half-a-km) run from
the swim to transition. It was mostly on bitumen road too, which my bare
feet didn't appreciate!!

Finally reached my bike, but when I stopped running, I thought I was
gonna hurl. So took my time and did some deep breathing - by the time I
was dressed and unracking the bike, I felt fine again.

40km Bike - 1:19:30
Had a great bike ride!!! Nic and the girls were waiting at the top of
the first hill on Buderim Ave (next to the apartments) and gave me a
huge cheer! Wind wasn't too bad, but built up over the morning. I was
comfortably holding 32-38km/h over most of the first half. Turned
around at the 20km mark, and straight into a headwind - yuk!! I was in
the little chainring the whole time on the way back, sitting on around
27-31km/h.

Lots of packs formed into the headwind on the way back (cheats!!), but
when I passed the drafting 'penalty boxes', they always had at least
half-a-dozen people in them, so the draft-busters were pretty busy!!

Flew back into Mooloolaba, and saw Nic & the girls again down at a cafe
on the Esplanade. Nearly stacked it trying to wave to them as I was
getting my feet out of the bike shoes, and was very pumped to crack 1:20
for the ride. I wanted to average at least 30km/h and stay relaxed - and
achieved both.

T2 - approx 0:01:30
Nice quick T2. Whacked the number belt on, put socks on as well for the
10km run, and dashed out for the final leg...

10km Run - 1:10:16
This was HARD!!!! Ran out feeling OK, but with legs feeling a bit heavy
from the bike. Then straight into the long climb up the hill, which
totally killed me. Legs just died on me, and I struggled to keep any
sort of pace. I knew though that I had heaps of time, so I just mentally
locked myself into that slow, 7min/k pace and kept on truckin'...

Legs complained heaps, but after a couple of laps, was very pumped to
climb the hill for the last time on the way home. Saw my 7yo daughter
Caitlin, who said,
"Where have you been, we've been waiting for HOURS!!" which made me
laugh. She ran with me down the hill for the last time, and then I saw
Nic who was cheering like crazy. Finally made it into the finishing
chute, and pumped the air like crazy with joy and elation at finally
making it!!

Total - 3:10:34
A slow time, but the goal was always to finish, and I was very, very
pleased with the result. Learnt heaps about where I'm at with the 3
components, and what I need to do to get better. And most importantly,
had a great time at the race, and an awesome long weekend with Nic and
the kids.

The countdown begins...

2006-03-21T16:38:00.000+10:00

I am officially in taper for Mooloolaba!!!

Monday was my last day of training. I woke up early and, after a warm up,
knocked out a straight 1500m set in the pool at Hibiscus. I took it slow and
steady, and finished feeling relaxed and strong - a great confidence booster
leading into the race.

At lunchtime, I headed out for my last pre-race run - a lunchtime run
looping the Goodwill/Story bridges again. I clocked 42:20 for the 6.5km loop
- a PB!! What a terrific way to finish my run prep. After the enforced
two-week break due to illness, I was worried that I'd stuffed my run form
totally, but this run has really lifted my confidence for race day.

Being in taper feels a bit strange. Today (Tuesday) I have left as a rest
day - and I feel a bit lazy!!! All I have scheduled for the rest of the week
is a bike ride tomorrow, and then my final swim on Thursday. And that's it!!
Hopefully, come Sunday at 7:33am, the body will be a well-rested machine
ready to perform at its best!!

My "week of pain" update

2006-03-16T16:56:00.000+10:00

So far, this week is going OK - maybe not as full-on as I was initially
planning, but it has been a better week than others lately!!

On Monday, I cycled to & from work, plus knocked out a lunchtime run. The
cycling went fine, but I had a nutritional stuff-up that seriously affected
my run. I ate hardly anything in the morning (just a small bowl of natural
muesli early on), and suddenly it was lunchtime and time to dash out for the
run!! About halfway though it (just before I reached the Story Bridge), I
got the shakes and seemed to lose all power in my legs. It was an awful
feeling!! I ended up getting back for a total of 48:30 for the 6.5km loop
around the Goodwill & Story Bridges. I think that's a good 6min off my PB!!
But it was a good lesson to learn...

On Tuesday, the plan was to swim in the morning, plus commute to/from work
on the bike again. Family life intruded though, with my poor wife having a
shocker with her cold. So all my plans were thrown out as I covered for her
in getting the kids ready, etc, and I got no training in at all. That wasn't
such a bad thing though, as the legs felt a little sore from the run.

Wednesday saw me back on the bike. I only really had morning time to train,
and so I rode my bike to Mt Gravatt for some hill-climbing repeats. I rode
the winding 2.1km road to the summit a total of 3 times, which I was pleased
with - equalling my best number of repeats ever!!

Today, Thursday, saw me lacing up my running shoes again. I headed out for
another lunchtime 6.5km Goodwill/Story bridge loop. But this time, I looked
after my pre-run nutrition much more carefully!! And it showed, too - I
finished in a time of 46:30. Two minutes faster was great, but the most
telling factor was how I felt at the end. The run was very easy and I felt
relaxed - as opposed to Monday when I thought I was going to spontaneously
combust!! Much, much better.

Tomorrow I'm linking up with "the usual bunch" and heading out for LA(7) -
the weekly 'lard arse' bunch ride around the river. We meet at 0530 at the
Southbank end of the Goodwill Bridge for a spin around the river. All up,
that'll be about 50km in the morning for me, which should give the legs a
nice workout.

So its turning out to be a good training week. Not necessarily the "week of
pain" I'd initially envisaged, but probably a good one for the 2nd last week
before Mooloolaba!!

My week of pain - pre-race bootcamp...

2006-03-13T11:01:00.000+10:00

With two weeks to go until the big race at Mooloolaba, my revised prep
(after the unscheduled fortnight off due to illness) has this week as a big
"week of pain" before a final one week taper into the race.

I wasn't sure whether or not to blog this week's efforts - I'm sure you'll
all have a bit of a chuckle when you see how my "big" week plays out (I'm
sure its the equivalent of a recovery week for many of you, or even less!!).
But I figure it will be a good week to come back to and review in a year's
time to see how far I've come.....

Anyway - Day 1. Today is a Bike & Run day. The bike component is just my
regular commute, but I structured the morning ride in as a 'hard' ride to
really punch the legs out, and pushed myself hard up the few small inclines.
At lunchtime I'll be doing my 6.5km Goodwill/Story bridges loop. Then
finishing the day with an easy ride home to try and keep the legs loose for
tomorrow.

Fingers crossed the week goes as planned!!!

Plans gone awry - challenges ahead...

2006-03-08T21:26:00.000+10:00

Well, even the best laid plans of mice & men can sometimes go astray....

Last week and this week, according to my training plan, were going to be two
of my biggest training weeks load-wise - before easing into a two week
'taper' culminating in my first "A-race" of the year, being the Mooloolaba
tri. Instead, these two big weeks have ended up being devoid of training as
I tried to shake a persistent cough & cold that knocked me off my feet for a
while.

So where has that left me?? I was feeling extremely frustrated and upset
about it all. I was cranky that my training plan had gone to pieces, and I
felt that my hopes of a sub 3-hour finish for the race had been blown away.
And I didn't know how to approach this final 19 days leading into the
race...

Luckily, my wonderful wife was able to slap me with some reality. "What
would you say to me if I was whinging about being sick this close to the
race?" She demanded. "You would say - 'its not the last few weeks, but the
last few months that make the difference...' ".

Of course, she was right. I was pretty tied up in the loss of a couple of
big training weeks. But for the last few months I've been sticking to a good
training plan, and training consistently. And I had a great race up at
Caloundra as a result. Sure, I might not be as 'finished' as I would like
because of the unscheduled break - but I'm still in a pretty good position
fitness-wise to post a decent result (for me).

So how to approach the final couple of weeks to the race?? Well, I got back
on the bike this morning for the first time in 10 days. I've still got the
'tail end' of the cold, so just had an easy spin into work to make sure I
didn't overstress the cv system, and will take the same approach home this
afternoon. The rest of the week will be the same. Very easy & short swims,
rides and runs to ease the lungs back into it.

Next week will be a 'hard' week. I'll aim to push myself through some long
runs and bikes, and pump out full 1500m sets in the pool. Then the final
week will be an easy/taper week.

Is that the best program for me? I don't know!! But I think that it'll get
me to the start line in pretty good shape...

Sick!!

2006-02-28T12:13:00.000+10:00

Have been struck down with my first real illness of the season... But that's what you get with two young children in the house!!

I'm stuck at home today. Sore throat, sore head, achy joints... Not very fun. I've been maxing out on Panadol, and trying to drink heaps of water. Don't want to eat, but am trying to get down fruit and some honey toast.

I don't like feeling sick!! I've been trying to think of it as an enforced rest, but I've hardly been training in large enough volumes to make that credible. But the power of the mind is strong, and self-delusion is still one of my strong points, so I'll give it a shot...

Hope everyone else is well!! I'd better go and have another lie down...

A good week!!

2006-02-23T14:48:00.000+10:00

This week is going well performance-wise - I recorded another PB yesterday
with my cycling commute into the CBD.

I didn't expect it to be a quick ride, as I was starting later than usual
(which meant more traffic, plus slightly hotter conditions). Even the first
couple of km's felt awkward, as the legs didn't feel quite 100%. Obviously
that got better though, because by the time I reached Stone's Corner I was
feeling pretty quick.......

I ended up recording an average speed of 26.9km/h for the 13km commute,
cracking the 29min mark (28:50) for the first time!! That probably doesn't
sound fast, but that includes a LOT of stopping and starting at red lights
and ped crossings, plus a significant section of shared ped-bike path where
I always slow right down to a safe speed.

Going back through my training diary for last year (to check if it was a
PB), I noticed that the fastest times I have recorded for my cycling efforts
were the ones that I didn't set out to do so - that is, they were often
performed at a perceived effort of only, say, 8/10 rather than totally flat
out. I'm not sure why this is the case. Maybe if I go flat-out, I fade
later?? Or maybe I lose form (and thus efficiency) in an all-out effort??
I'll have to think about that... But its good to know that my body seems to
respond better when asked to perform at 'a bit below max' rather than 'flat
strap'!

Lunchtime Run

2006-02-21T16:21:00.000+10:00

Knocked out another lunchtime run today - a 6.5km riverside loop crossing
the Goodwill & Story bridges.

I was lulled into a false sense of security - the weather forecast was
tipping a max of 'only' 29 degrees, and a quick check of bom.gov.au before I
headed off to the lockers showed a temperature of around 28 degrees......

Warm up was the 5-10min walk down to the Riverside Centre office building.
There was some cloud cover and a light breeze, which was very pleasant. But
of course 5 minutes into the run the sun broke through, and for the
remainder of the run it beat down mercilessly. It felt like on of the
hottest runs I'd done, and I was saturated by the end of it!! To make things
worse, I wore a t-shirt instead of my usual singlet, plus I forgot my cap...
not smart!!

I finished back at the Riverside Centre clocking 42:30 for the loop, which
was another PB, taking 1:30 off my previous best!! One of the benefits
during the early stages of a running comeback is that almost every run seems
to yield some sort of PB, which is very motivating.

---

I've neglected to follow-up a couple of questions people have raised in past
comments.

Re: the practicalities of squeezing in a lunchtime run
I am very fortunate in that I work for a federal public service department,
and so I have access to flextime provisions. Of course, this isn't an 'open
cheque' to take long lunches - but it does mean that if my run takes longer
than expected, I can easily make the time up by working later & longer in
the day. That said, I only squeeze a lunchtime run in 1 day /week, and my
manager is aware of my running and triathlon goals (I am the resident office
"fitness nut") - and so I'm not just 'disappearing' for an hour or so.....

Re: the awful humidity & heat of a midday run
Well, I have no credible, sane answer that would make any sense!! As I'm
running along, losing half my body weight in sweat, I tell myself how
"character building" this is... *laughs*
Ok, maybe not - but practical considerations mean that the midday run is
crucial for managing to fit all my exercise goals into my weekly timetable.
Hopefully the 'extreme' conditions will help me down the track if I ever do
any races in the heat of the day, or maybe I'll even see a decent
performance jump when the weather cools and conditions become much more
favourable for running!!

Mission Accomplished!!

2006-02-13T10:35:00.000+10:00

Hi all,

Well, Veni Vidi Vici!!! I had an awesome race, and exceeded all my
expectations for the day. I won't bore you with all the gritty details, so
here's a quick version of events. Many thanks to everyone for all the
messages of support (both through the blog and otherwise...), as they all
helped to spur me on to a dream result!!

Pre race:
Registered on Saturday afternoon. Discovered my age-group wave was last to
go at 8:45am. Given I had to check bike in and get numbered before 6:30am,
this somewhat stuffed my pre-race plan!! Then had an anxiety attack about
being the last person out on the course.....

Sunday morning, rode the bike down at 5:30am. Got a perfect bike rack
position, numbered up, then walked back to the house (about 15min walk).
Tried to eat breakfast, but nearly threw up multiple times (nerves?? what
nerves...??). Had to, err, ablute about 5 times. Walked back to the race
start eventually, arriving at 8:15am. Yet another dunny stop, then splashed
about in the water to warm up for 5min.

Swim:
Messy!! About 80 people in my wave. I hung back, and let the washing machine
sort itself out... Managed to keep fairly on course, and only got jostled
around the two turning buoys. Finished the 400m in 9:10 - slow, but OK for
the open water...

T1:
Absolute disaster. Fell over putting my running knicks on. Had to take my
shirt off when it got stuck, towel dry my back again, and have a 2nd go.
Pulled my number off in the process, and had to re-pin it. Over 4min -
appalling!!! But it was a good lesson to learn before Mooloolaba...

Bike:
Excellent. Was aiming to beat 30min, and covered the 15km in 29:10. It was a
very fast (lovely hotmix roads) & flat course, and I found a very relaxed
rhythm sitting on 31-32km/h. Lots of drafting (even though there were plenty
of marshalls around), but I managed to avoid it (so why couldn't the
others???). Even though the plan was to 'hammer', when I realised I was able
to hold a pace above my 'goal pace', I decided to keep it at that and stay
relatively relaxed and calm - and that would hopefully pay off with a
quicker run...

T2:
Perfect. In & out very fast, still wondering how it went so horribly wrong
in T1!!

Run:
PB!! Flat out & back course. Took about 1km for the legs to start feeling
normal again after the bike, then I found a great running rhythm and reeled
in a few runners (but not in my category!!). Had this stupid freakin'
"Sugarbabes" song in my head which I couldn't shake, but at least the beat
was right for my running cadence!! Aiming for 25min for the 4km, but smashed
that to pieces with a 23:06 result!! I was thrilled with the time - a real
breakthrough for me, being my first time below 6min/km pace...

So the final result was about 1hr 7min (76th out of 78 for my category, and
590th out of 692 overall). Easily beat my pre-race goal of 1hr 20min, and I
felt terrific!! Some good lessons learnt for Mooloolaba, and gained a heap
of confidence from my performance. I had a terrific time too, and enjoyed
the race & atmosphere (they had a total of over 1200 competitors)...

Many thanks again to everyone for their words of support. And a special
thanks to my wonderful wife & my beautiful 2 daughters. Without their
tolerance and support, I wouldn't be able to get up early in the mornings to
go and knock out some training. And their cheering on the side of the road
on both the bike & run courses made all the difference!!

Race day plan: Caloundra

2006-02-10T14:17:00.000+10:00

OK, so its Friday afternoon and I'm sitting at my desk at work getting
twitchy and excited about race day on Sunday (Gatorade series, Caloundra tri
- 400/15/4, for those who haven't been paying attention!!).

So I figured that it would be a good idea to think about my race plan and
goals for the race.

Basically, I'm gonna go for it and see how quick (or slow!) I can go.
Swim (400m): I'm not going to panic (hopefully!) at the start of the swim,
but will use the first 50-100m to try and get a rhythm and feel for the
water. Then the plan is to push as hard as I can through the remainder. With
50m to go, I'll try and remember to up my kicking rate in the hope of
getting some bloodflow back to the legs so I don't fall over to many times
when I get out!! (GOAL TIME: ???? maybe 8min?)

Bike (15km): Again, the plan is to go hard. I'm not leaving my shoes on the
bike - so I won't rush transition and I'll make sure I get on the bike OK.
Once I'm away from transition and onto the course proper, I'll try and
really work hard... Ideally, I'd like to try and hold around a 30k/h average
for the 15km - but we'll see what the legs are capable of, I guess!! (GOAL
TIME: 30min)

Run (4km): Ah yes, my old nemesis - the run... This will be a big unknown
for me, coming off a hard bike and straight into a run. So I'll try and
spend the first half establishing a comfortable rhythm and holding it. At
the halfway mark, if I'm feeling really good, then I'll up the pace and come
home hard. Otherwise, I'll just hold my pace, and save the final dash home
for the last 500m-1km. (GOAL TIME: 25min)

Overall, if I can finish without having to stop anywhere (especially on the
run), then it has been a successful event for me!! So overall goal 1 is to
finish. Keeping transition times in mind, then if I can finish in less than
1hr 20min, it will have been a raging, over-the-top, unbelievably fantastic
result!!

So that's
GOAL 1 - Finish
GOAL 2 - 1hr 20min overall

Whatever happens though, it'll be a fun day... Come on Sunday!!!!

My baby is back...

2006-02-09T10:24:00.000+10:00

Picked up my faithful Orbea from Peloton Cycles after its service yesterday.

I could definitely feel a difference in how she rode. Seemed a bit more free
and responsive (how are they for vague, meaningless descriptors??
*laughs*)... The only downside is that I don't think they did a particularly
good job of truing the wheels..... But I'm swinging past Peloton on Friday
morning anyway after doing a river loop with some others, so I might ask
them about that then, and see what they think.

After I collected my bike, I swung past Intraining as well. I wanted a pair
of 'elastic shoelaces' to make it easier & quicker to get my shoes on during
the bike/run transition on Sunday. The guy who served me asked if I was
doing a triathlon, and I said, "Yep. In Caloundra this Sunday. My first
triathlon in 8 years...". He grinned and said, "Welcome back!".

It took me a while to wipe the goofy grin off my face afterwards........

Removing an excuse...

2006-02-08T15:22:00.000+10:00

Hi all,

Sorry about my erratic blogging - but I've been too busy training!! How's
that for an excuse!! *laughs*

Over the last few weeks, my bike has felt a bit "off". Don't know why - it
just has. I've checked it out as well as I can, and I found I was getting
some vibration coming from the front hub when I spun it, plus my wheels (esp
the rear) have been out of true as well (not side-to-side, but
egg-shaped...). I reckon the bottom bracket is getting a bit tight as
well....

Of course, all this could just be in my head. I don't know. But I figured
that it would be money well-spent to give my bike (which is now 1-year-old)
an annual service by someone who actually knows what they are doing. So
today my darling Orbea is in at Peloton Cycles getting a full service done
(ie. being pulled apart totally and overhauled). Its not cheap, costing me
$125. But I figure I do at least a few thousand k's on it per year, and am
hoping to knock out at least 5000k this year. And so its probably
worthwhile.... I'll know for sure when I ride home this afternoon.

The only downside is that I now won't be able to blame my bike when I get
dropped at the Murarrie crits, or average in the low 20's on a river
ride!!!!

---

On Monday, I knocked out another lunchtime run. I shaved over 2 minutes off
my last time, and recorded a PB of 44:30 for the 6.5km loop around the
Goodwill/Story Bridge circuit.

I'm a bit wary of my calf muscles again (mainly the right calf). They've
been pulling up from the lunch-time run feeling pretty stiff & tight, and I
get some slight soreness that lasts a day or so afterwards. I think it might
be a combination of it still being early days in my running, plus the harder
surfaces around the river - and so I'm changing my other runs during the
week to grass/dirt tracks only to see if that helps.

The very last thing I want is to go through another calf injury episode like
I did late last year!! Fortunately, I've noticed that a bike ride often will
loosen the calf muscles up considerably - so I'm making sure I do an easy
ride the following day, which seems to help...

---

Finally - the Caloundra Triathlon is almost here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am very excited - this Sunday will be my official triathlon comeback race
after an 8 year absence from the scene. While I know I won't be fast, I know
I am ready to tackle the distance without any concerns about finishing, and
can give it a red hot go!!

Its a 400m swim, 15km bike, 4km run - and will be based around the Powerboat
Club (Woorim Park, I think) on Golden Beach in Caloundra. Hope they keep
those powerboats out of the way during the swim!!!

We often spend weekends at my wife's aunt's holiday home on Golden Beach, so
it feels like a "home race" to me, which I think will help me through any
first race jitters I might have. I'm happy with how I've prepared - the only
gaps are transition practice (which should be entertaining on the day!), and
practice on my new tribars. But there have to be a couple of surprises on
the day, right??

Can't wait until Sunday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The inaugural "Lunchtime Run"

2006-01-30T14:51:00.000+10:00

Woke up this morning unsure of what the weather was going to do, so I
eschewed my bike, and instead packed my running gear in my bag and jumped
onto the bus to head into work.

I've never done the "lunchtime run" thing before. Not sure why - but I
figured that this was as good a time as any to get into it, and if it works
out it'll certainly help me to fit in all the training I'm hoping to squeeze
into a week!!

At lunchtime, I headed down to the locker-rooms in the basement carpark and
got changed. I used the 5 minute walk down to the Brisbane River (near the
"Riverside Centre" office building) as my warm-up. What to do next?? After
bouncing ideas off some others while at work as to which route to take, I
still didn't know what to do. I didn't want to go too far..... I ended up
deciding to run along the river, through the botanical gardens and over the
Goodwill Bridge, and seeing how I felt then.

As I ran over the Goodwill Bridge, I felt terrific. Had a steady (albeit
slow!) pace, and wasn't feeling stressed or straining. At the Southbank end
of the bridge, there is a "Brisbane River Run" post - it is bright blue, and
has a map showing a few running routes plus there distances. One of them
showed a river loop that incorporated the Goodwill Bridge & Story Bridge as
crossings - for a total of 6.47kms. My run so far had tracked the 'final
third' of that route... I thought, "Bugger it - I can do that!!" and headed
off towards the cliffs and the Story Bridge.

The route itself was lovely - following the river through the quiet park in
front of the Kangaroo Point cliffs. I saw heaps of runners, and a few
cyclists, and that made me smile - both to see lots of people out
exercising, plus making me feel like part of the 'running community'. I made
a very brief toilet stop (I hydrated well this morning!), and grabbed a
mouthful of water at a couple of bubblers as I went along...

The only 'hill' along the run was a short, steep climb up to the Story
Bridge. I jogged up, but I think next time I'll walk up - its only a less
-than-50m climb, but the knees felt it. I ran through the underpass to the
opposite footpath of the Story Bridge, only to find it closed!! So I
backtracked to the city-side footpath and headed across... Its a very
exposed footpath across the Story Bridge - great for the breeze, but I
really felt the sun beating down on me. I made it across, only to be greeted
with another short but very steep downhill to the riverpath. I walked down
it this time, in an effort to save my knees a little pain!!

The final part of the run along the river to the Riverside Centre was flat
and shady. I felt terrific to be finishing off the run strongly, and felt
sure that the "lunchtime run" will be a permanent part of my weekly
schedule.

Final stats: 6.5km taking 47min (including brief drink & toilet stops). My
longest run for the year!! Yay!!

Race Report: AusDay 4km Fun Run

2006-01-30T10:28:00.000+10:00

Apologies for the late report.....

I woke up on Thursday morning full of both excited and anxious nerves for
the morning ahead. My wife & kids all got up early, and we headed into
Southbank, arriving at abut 8:15am.

Nic & the kids headed off on arrival to queue up for a free bbq brekkie on
offer, thanks to a local radio station. Meanwhile, I started off doing some
stretches while hanging around the finishing chute to watch the 8km runners
come in. The waiting time came quickly, and soon enough it was 9am and time
for us 4km runners to take the stage.....

At the start line, everyone seemed to hang back. I had planned to start
'mid-field' so as not to get in the way of the faster runners, but the lack
of people up-front meant there was plenty of room there. "Bugger it," I
thought, and I ended up only a metre or two behind the front-runners. After
a few words from Kerry McCann (who I believe won the silver medal in the
last Commonwealth Games marathon), the gun fired and we were off!!!!

The start was a bit of a mess. Some people who started at the back
absolutely sprinted off from the start. I got jostled out of the way a few
times, but to my amusement I passed most of these people less than 500m
later - they were all reduced to a walk!! They were obviously keen!! I was
very happy with my start. My goal was to try and settle into a steady pace
that I could hold for the entire race, and try and keep it constant.....

There is only so much race report I can fit into a 4km run!! Needless to
say, I accomplished my goal. We ran along Southbank from the 'cultural
forecourt', headed over the Goodwill Bridge, thru QUT and into the Botanical
Gardens. We looped through the Gardens, and then followed the Brisbane River
back to the Goodwill Bridge, following Southbank again back to the finish. I
think I spent most of the run with a big smile on my face. My legs felt like
they were working hard, but feeling good at the same time. At the 2km
turnaround, I checked my watch and saw I had only been out for 13min, which
was better than my hope of 7min/k pace.

As we approached the finisher's chute, I saw my wife & kids waiting there
and cheering. It gave me a big lift, and I gave them all high-fives as I ran
past. I crossed the line in exactly 25min - a time which I was very, very
happy with. A slow time in the overall scheme of things, but a big step in
the right direction for me.

I had a fabulous morning, and definitely enjoyed the feeling of both running
and being in a race-type environment again. Lots and lots of positives to
take out of the day, and I'm looking ahead now with great anticipation to
the next event on my calendar.....

The day before...

2006-01-25T11:10:00.000+10:00

I am in shock. Tomorrow is the Australia Day 4km Fun Run, and I have just
about made it injury-free!! I am actually going to get to a planned
event!!!!!!

Am I nervous? Yes! Am I excited? Very!!

I do feel a bit silly getting all pumped about a 4km run - but this will be
my longest run for the year, and will mark for me the end of my "adaptation
phase" to running, and be the launching pad to some more decent long runs.
Its good to have a "symbolic event" like this fun run to mark the end of the
initial phase and the beginning of my building phase to Mooloolaba.

I'll be bright and colourful on the day. I have a brand new pair of royal
blue running knicks that I'll christen, plus I'll be wearing my fluoro
yellow Mooloolaba singlet, my bright red Nike shorts, and my white Nike hat.
At least I know that my wife & the kids will be able to spot me in the
crowd!!!!!

Can't wait for tomorrow!!!

A hesitant start.....

2006-01-23T12:02:00.000+10:00

Well, its been an interesting start to 2006 for me training-wise...

Most interesting has been how I've been mentally handling the "training mix"
that I've given myself. Its been trickier than I thought it would be.

Last year, the overwhelming emphasis for me was cycling. It was relatively
easy for me to make sure I did all the things that I wanted to get through.
The running that came through at the end was just a side interest, and
spliced in easily....

This year, I've been trying to give each of the three discipline's "equal
time" - with swimming maybe trading a little off to cycling. But its been
hard!!! My goal has been to do at least 2 sessions of each discipline per
week, and then just leaving any remaining sessions I can fit in to personal
preference.

Thing is, I feel like I haven't really been doing anything!! I've been
getting my minimum sessions in, but when I look back at my training diary
for the week, I always feel half-surprised to see it all written in there.
Its like I don't feel like I'm working very hard.... I'm guessing that maybe
that's due to the beginner nature" of my swimming & running - I figure that
this early "adaptation phase" means that I'm not working particularly hard
in a cardiovascular sense, but instead the limiting factor is more my
muscles getting used to the new activity.

Its a disconcerting sensation. Last year, during my cycling only focus, I
always felt "well trained" - but lately I've just been feeling lazy because
I don't feel like I've been "going hard". I'm hoping this will change as the
legs and arms adapt and I move into a "base-building" phase.........

The official start...

2006-01-12T21:42:00.000+10:00

I marked yesterday in my Training Diary as the official first day of my 2006
journey...

I started off with a run/swim combo. Its about 3km to the local 50m pool, so
I walked the 1st km, then ran the final 2km. My dodgy calf cruised through
with flying colours, and I enjoyed the feeling of running again. Going by my
not-so-accurate analogue watch, the running component was at roughly
7min/km. Slow, but good enough for a beginning!!

Similarly, in the pool, I just wanted to roll the arms over and get some
feel for the water again. I swam a total of 1100m, made up of some freestyle
sets, and a couple of hundred metres of some kickboard work. It was fun
being back in the water again, and I really enjoyed myself.

Today, my quads are a little sore, and my shoulders are a bit stiff, but
that's it!! I was anticipating a bit more soreness (especially in my claves
- which have no soreness at all!), so I'm very happy with my tentative first
step on the journey.

Oh, and in a 'leap of faith', I booked accommodation for the Mooloolaba
Triathlon weekend today!! Yay!!

Let's get speciphysical....

2006-01-06T14:54:00.000+10:00

That post-title seemed to be a good idea at the time - but doesn't look so
good in print....

After some contemplation, I've decided to post up my SPECIFIC RACE GOALS for
2006. I've had a bad run at this - every time I've stuck a race in my "Next
Big Event" section (see the sidebar on the left!!), I've had to miss it due
to injury!! Talk about the 'kiss of death'!! But I'll laugh fate in the
face, and put my goals out there for all to see....

Paul's Race Calendar for 2006:

26 January - Australia Day Fun Run (4km), Southbank;
12 February - Gatorade Triathlon Series, Race 5 (400m/15k/4k), Caloundra;
26 March - Mooloolaba Triathlon (1.5k/40k/10k), Mooloolaba;
14 April - Intraining Easter 10km Challenge;
30 April - Brisbane Half-Marathon, Southbank;
4 June - Qld Half-Marathon, Doomben;
2 July - Gold Coast Marathon, Coolangatta;
1 October - Gold Coast Half-IronMan, Coomera.

My "Triple Crown" - the 3 races that I will be specifically setting myself
up for - will be the Mooloolaba Tri, the Gold Coast Marathon, and the Gold
Coast Half-IM.

My "B races" - races that I will prepare for, but won't go nuts about
tapers, etc - will be the two half-marathons, the Brisbane and the
Queensland.

The remaining races, plus any others that I decide to do over the course of
2006, will be 'training races'. There'll be no specific preparation for them
at all, and they'll either be 'dress-rehearsals' (eg the Gatorade tri series
race), or just racing to spice up my training (or just for fun!!).

Its strange for me to look at in print. I feel both excited, anxious and
intimidated all at the same time. But the emphasis will be remaining on
finishing & having fun, so bring it on!!

Looking forward: 2006

2006-01-04T14:14:00.000+10:00

I am very excited about 2006 - especially when it comes to my sporting
goals. The theme for me, given that I am really still in the early stages of
my re-emerging cycling/running/triathlon passion, will be "LONG, BASE
TRAINING".

Now that I have managed to kick over the initial hump of getting some
initial fitness, becoming comfortable with the sports, etc, I really need
to focus on giving myself a super-solid base. So my goal is to consistently
do longer rides on my bike, and build up to long runs. I'm a little reticent
to use the "long, slow distance" catch-cry (I don't want to be slow!!), but
it is probably appropriate in a lot of ways...

What are my more specific goals??
CYCLING:
- Do a 100km ride
- Complete the club's 100-mile Century Ride
- Complete my 'personal triple crown' - Bne-Gold Coast, Bne-Sunshine Coast,
and Bne-Toowoomba rides.

RUNNING:
- Run a sub-1hr 10km
- Run a half-marathon (looking at the Brisbane or Gold Coast events)
- Run a marathon (Gold Coast if I have a good year sans-injury!!)

TRIATHLON:
- Mooloolaba Triathlon (1.5/40/10km) at the end of March
- Gold Coast Half-IronMan (Sept/Oct I think...)

I'm very excited and keen to achieve these over the course of the year. I'm
already planning my personal milestones to see how I'm progressing. I'm not
too worried about how I'll go in the above events time-wise - I'm doing all
these just as personal challenges for myself, and so the primary aim will be
to finish each one. I figure I can worry about speed in 2007, assuming
things go well (and that's too far ahead to think about for the moment!!).

Many thanks to all for their supportive and encouraging comments throughout
the year (especially when my dodgy calf gave way!) - I hope you can stick
with me on my journey to bigger and brighter things!!

My Christmas Message!!

2005-12-22T16:39:00.000+10:00

There is still over a week to go for 2005, so I won't bore you with my "Year
in Review" just yet....

But for now, I'd like to wish you all a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Whatever your traditions, religion or culture - I hope that you have a
happy, safe and 'quality' time with those people who are important to you.
Oh, and I hope Santa brings you a pretty trinket as well!!

Cheers everyone!!

A milestone effort

2005-12-19T15:03:00.000+10:00

This morning, I walked to work.

Not normally the sort of thing that would be considered a 'milestone
effort', but it was a longer walk than I'd normally do - 12-13km from Mt
Gravatt East to the Brisbane CBD, taking me 2hrs 10min for the journey.

I've always wanted to do the journey from home into work on-foot. Not sure
why it had such allure, but I think that I considered it a measure of my
ability to be able to get there.... I've been deliberately building up my
power-walking with that goal in mind.

On Sunday night, the weather reports were suggesting that this morning would
be quite cool (a nice change!!), with some pleasant southerly breezes
keeping the temps down lower than the humid, hot preceding week. So I
figured it would be foolish not to take advantage of the ideal conditions!!
I woke up early, laced on my New Balance shoes, and headed in.....

The weather was perfect for walking - sunny and cool. I concentrated on
trying to keep up a strong, steady pace for the whole journey. I did notice
in the latter stages that I mentally 'drifted away' a few times and slowed
down a bit - but that didn't worry me too much. Its all part of the
enjoyment of the walk!!

---

On a related topic - I think that maybe that calf injury I had a month or so
ago may have been a blessing in disguise. It has forced me into this regime
of looong walks - and I think they are providing me with a much better
'base' than I had previously given myself. As an additional benefit, the
longer walks are also beneficial to my cycling performance - I've noticed
that I'm not fading on longer rides as much as previously.

I guess sometimes you need to take a step backwards before you can move
forwards again??

Banking my gains...

2005-12-13T10:29:00.000+10:00

Saturday's Murarrie crit effort has my motivation still up on a high - so
I've tried to translate that into some good 'sessions' to start off the
week.

Yesterday (Monday), I laced up the running shoes for another power-walk. The
plan was to walk into Stones Corner again from home, and then catch the bus
into the CBD from there. It was a warm, humid morning again *groan*, but the
legs were feeling great!! I reached Stones Corner in just over an hour, but
decided to take advantage of my 'momentum' and keep on going.

The legs had a very pleasant 'working hard ache' going on, and I had a great
stride going. I eventually reached the Woolloongabba busway station, and
decided to call it there. That made a total of approx 1hr 35min of walking,
which was probably (roughly) 9-10km. I felt great afterwards, and am really
very pleased with how my walking regime is going. My previously troublesome
left calf is feeling strong, and I think the looong walks are conditioning
the rest of my leg muscles well for the transition to running over
Christmas/New Year.

---

Today, I jumped onto the bike. I was a little worried about the heat, but it
turned out to be quite cooler morning than predicted (34 degrees!!). Over
the weekend, I had given my Orbea a thorough cleaning - so it was looking
good, plus the drivetrain seemed quieter too, so it was obviously overdue!!
I changed my rear tyre to a not-so-worn spare I had, so was happy not to get
a pinch flat on the ride...

I got up nice and early, and had a peanut butter and jam sandwich on some
multi-grain bread for breakfast (plus a few bites of some mango I cut up
last night - yum!!). Left home just before 6am, and headed into the city.

I was feeling a little bit flat early on, but that seemed to improve as the
ride went on. After crossing the Goodwill Bridge to the city, I continued on
to UQ at St Lucia, then completed a full River Loop. I concentrated on
maintaining form and an easy, steady pace. I felt much, much better than
when I did the same ride last week - finished up with stats of 45.5km @
26.3km/h average. A bit quicker than last week, but I am in much better
shape post-ride this time. A good sign!!

Now all I need is a tailwind home to cap off a good couple of days!!

Race Report: Balmoral Crits, Sat 10Nov2005

2005-12-12T10:56:00.000+10:00

On Saturday morning, I rode out to the Murarrie crit circuit for another go
at the Balmoral Crits.

The morning started awkwardly - after riding 5 minutes down the road, I
realised I had left my CA licence at home!! So I had to ride back quickly,
grab the licence, and take off again. As a result, I arrived at the track
only 15min before the start of the Cat 2 race....

I walked over to the sign-on tent, and handed over my $8. They were
splitting Cat 2 into two divisions this week (which they have been
apparently doing for a while, due to large numbers!) and I was placed in
Division 1. I got my bike ready, and watched the finish of the Elite & Cat 1
races. Soon enough, it was time for me to start.....

I wasn't expecting much from myself this week. Last time I raced, I only
lasted about 12min before being dropped. And even then, I struggled to jump
back on each time the peloton swept past. So I was just hoping to improve on
that performance.

And at 8am we were away!! 40min plus 3 laps. I settled into a rhythm pretty
quickly, probably due to my late arrival (I figured my legs were still
'warm'). A quick count of the group, and I reckon there were only 17-18 in
our division. A smallish field, but I thought that might make things a bit
easier to judge. For the first 15min, I held on easily. We were cruising
around 37-39km/h, and had overtaken the other Cat 2 division 3 times
already.

As we neared the 20min mark, we swung onto the home straight. I was near the
back, and cruised up along the outside of the group. Before I knew it, I had
eased up to the front few riders in the group!! Strategy wise, that was a
bad place to be for me. But then I thought, "Hey, I've never actually taken
a turn before in a crit race - I wonder what its like up the front...??". I
figured if I was gonna take the lead, I should do it properly. So I got out
of the saddle, and took off as hard as I could past the front few riders!!

When we reached the back straight I looked back, and saw a line of 5 riders
chasing me down (easily, may I add!!). So I sat up, and eased back to about
35km/h. The pack settled back in behind me, so I still had lead wheel!! Just
before reaching the home straight again, I figured that I'd gained enough
experience of front-running, so slowed back down to the low 30's. No-one
came around me though, so I happily 'controlled the speed' around 31-32km/h
for the remainder of the lap... As we crossed the start/finish line, a few
of the quicker riders obviously got jack of the slowish speeds, and took
over, moving around me. It was great fun riding up the front for a little
while, and great experience too. But next time, I'll be staying safely
hidden away in midst of the peloton!!

The race continued on, and at the 25min mark, I got dropped!! Nooo!! We were
on the '3rd straight', and I had drifted off the back slightly while I was
gulping a few mouthfuls of water. Great timing as always - there was a
surge. I quickly fumbled my bidon back into its cage, and took off, but I
couldn't bridge back to the group. D'oh!! I cruised around for a couple of
laps in the mid-20 km/h, and then tacked back on as the group came past.
Unfortunately, that meant I missed the Prime sprint - but I was never
actually going to be a part of that anyway, so it wasn't a disaster.

The final 10min was pretty tough. The usual suspects took control of the
group, and pushed it hard the rest of the way. I was working my butt off
trying to stay with them all, and was pleased to see the "3 to go" sign come
up! I stuck with them the rest of the way, dropping off as we hit the home
straight to the finish for the very last time. I actually felt nauseous from
the effort of holding on! Fortunately, my peanut butter & jam sanger from
breakfast stayed down in my tum-tum....

So, all up a great result for me - I was very, very pleased with how it
turned out. A big improvement on last time too!! My final stats were 50min
total time; 30km distance; 36km/h average speed.

Oh what a beautiful mooooorning!!

2005-12-07T08:58:00.000+10:00

Great ride in this morning - much further than anticipated!!

Ride Report:
I actually woke up on time for a change, and so was looking like being
on-time to the Sherwood Rd RV for once! But got the obligatory message from
Lotte, and then Glenn, bailing out. So I took advantage of the pre-7am time,
and watered in some 'Charlie Carp' fertiliser on my vege patch (I planted
out some cos lettuce seedlings last night).

I donned my sexy new sleeveless jersey, and rode straight into the city. Was
feeling pretty good, so decided to do some secret training, and kept going
out to UQ. Still felt good, so thought, "bugger it", and decided to do a
full River Loop.

Saw Tam just after UQ, and had a wave of mixed emotions. 'Guilt' when I
realised I must have stood her up at the Sherwood Rd RV; 'Busted' for doing
secret training; 'Embarrassed' at being spotted in my sleeveless jersey (I
felt nekkid!!).

Rest of the ride was freakin' hot!! Must have lost half my body weight in
sweat, and I only had one bidon (luckily full!). I kept most of the ride at
a very easy pace, seeing as I hadn't ridden since last Monday. Had some
lower back pain in the last 15-20min (WTF?!), so might have to stop slacking
off on my core strength exercises...

Final stats: 45.6km @ 25.5km/h ave.

Back in the saddle!!

2005-12-05T10:45:00.000+10:00

OK - maybe not the best running metaphor, but it'll do!!

For most of last week (after the impromptu leg test!!), I headed out at
lunch times for an easy 20-30min walk. I figured that some very light, but
continuous, exercise would help ease the calf into some more serious work.

Well, this morning I started the more serious work!! I was planning on
walking the 3km to the Hibiscus swimming complex, and then swim some laps.
But I slept through my alarm (again!), and didn't have time to fit the swim
in. Thing was that I REALLY didn't want to skip the walk, so I got dressed
into my exercise gear, packed my work gear, and started walking into the
city.

I decided that I'd walk for at least 30min, but not longer than an hour, and
see how I went. The calf felt GREAT!! It loosened up very quickly, and felt
strong (as did the rest of me!), and I found myself powering along Logan Rd
with a grin on my face. It took me a smidgin over an hour to reach the
Stones Corner shops, where I decided to stop. I was still feeling good, but
didn't want to overdo it. If I'm still feeling good this arvo, I might do a
shortish 30min walk across to the Mater Hill or 'Gabba bus station to help
the legs recover a bit (and not stiffen up too much!!).

I am VERY pleased with how my walk went. After the initial warm-up phase, I
really stretched out, and pushed myself up the hills, etc. However, I don't
want to over-excite myself into doing too much, too soon. So I reckon I'll
stick to power-walking for the next three weeks, and then start to introduce
some running around Christmas Day (it'll be like a little present to
myself!).

An unexpected test...

2005-11-30T10:59:00.000+10:00

On Monday night, Nic and I headed out for dinner and a concert. My
sister-in-law kindly came over to baby-sit the kids, so we headed out on our
date!! Yay!!

We decided to drive in to West End and find a restaurant there to eat. On
the way in, saw Tam riding home down Logan Rd, with a big dude in a yellow
jersey trying hard to wheelsuck - so that's what I must look like trying to
hold her wheel!!

When we made it into West Ed, we headed into a seafood place and ordered a
'platter for two'. Very nice - some grilled and beer-battered fish, sea
scallops, coconut prawns and salt-&-pepper squid, plus way too many chips.
It was absolutely delicious, and was well-matched to my schooner of James
Squire Golden Ale. Nicole really enjoyed her glass of Stella Bella SSB (from
Margaret River, WA).

We were feeling pretty full and contented after dinner, so we walked the
short 20-min walk from there to the performing arts complex (QPAC) at
Southbank. We had tickets to see "Johnny Clegg", which we had unexpectedly
won in a newspaper competition.

We weren't expecting much from the concert - all we knew was that Johnny
Clegg is a world music performer from South Africa. But what a show - he was
absolutely fantastic!! Turns out that he is an anthropologist, who did his
Masters thesis on traditional African dance. As part of that, he travelled
through Zululand talking to the tribal elders and recording their dance and
music styles.

When he had finished his thesis, he started writing music that blended
western-style soft rock with the traditional black African music. It was
controversial at the time, because this was at the height of the Apartheid
era in South Africa. He then set up a mixed-race band, and toured South
Africa...

If you get the chance to see this guy on tour - DO IT!!! Amazing music, huge
amount of energy on stage, and fascinating stories & anecdotes on how each
of the songs developed. I truly can't recommend him enough!!

Anyway - the story continues... Later in the night, Nic got a phone call on
her mobile - her best friend had gone into labour!! As Nic was her 'birthing
partner' for the delivery, this was big news! So we ran all the way back to
the car at West End so we could drive to the hospital.

And there was my unexpected test - a 5-10min run from Southbank to West End!
How did the calf stack up?? Well, it seemed to fatigue pretty quickly, and
felt kind of 'heavy' (if that makes sense??). But there were no twinges, and
definitely no pain - so that was good!!!

Oh, and "Harry Alexander" was born the next morning at 1:38am, weighing a
whopping 4.1kg. After being on the 'working side' for our 2 daughters,
Nicole enjoyed playing the alternative role for Harry's birth. She even got
to cut the umbilical cord, which she was very excited about. Welcome Harry!!

Update!!

2005-11-28T14:10:00.000+10:00

Been busy with work and such for the past week, but here's what has been
happening:

1) @#$% Calf Injury
I have been a scaredy-cat girlie-man (apologies to any actual girlie-men out
there!!), and have been scared to do any serious walking (or running) on the
dodgy calf. I've been doing lots of mucking about with the kids in the park,
and there is no pain there, but by the end of the day I feel like my left
calf has fatigued more than the other one. Plus I get the occasional
'twinge'.

What does it all mean?? Do I push on with a back-to-running program, or give
it more time?? I wonder if this is my Mediterranean heritage playing games,
and I've developed some 'Italian hypochondria" that is leading me to be too
cautious... *grins* I think I'll try and grow some kahunas, and start the
return program this week.

2) Cycling
Have been keeping up the cycling, and it is going well. Had a great ride
with Lotte and Glenn last week, where I met up with them at Dutton Park, and
then finished off their River Ride with them. Meant to race on Saturday, but
was disappointed when there was some drizzly rain on the morning. Not so
disappointed with the resultant sleep-in though, so I guess every cloud has
a silver lining!!

Went up Mt Gravatt again this morning too, and clocked 8min 47sec - a new PB
(but only just)!! The rides don't seem to trigger any calf probs at all, so
maybe I should take that as a sign!!

3) Triathlon goals
I think I'm going to have to face reality, and skip the anticipated December
tri. I definitely don't want to have to walk the run component, and I don't
think I'll be ready for a 5km run in 3 weeks time... I'm pretty
disappointed, but I'll pick out another race in January or early February
and aim for that instead.

The big goal of the Mooloolaba triathlon still remains though, and I'm still
very motivated to get there. If I can start and stick with an injury-free
preparation from here, that gives me a good 4 month prep until race day,
which is plenty of time to get myself into decent running form with some
consistent training.

---

So that's that. I'll re-focus my goals, and pull my running shoes (or
walking shoes!!) back on and see how I go...

Male's prerogative...

2005-11-17T15:25:00.000+10:00

Because I am a male, that entitles me to take advantage of certain
stereotypical traits. Such as ditching a well thought out return-from-injury
plan.

This morning, I again rode my bike into work. It started off well, with me
inhaling a fly just after swinging onto the first main road. I gagged and
coughed for ages, very nearly throwing up by the road side. Must have been
fascinating viewing for the motorists flying past!!

A bit further on, as I cruised along Logan Rd, I approached the side road
that lead up to Mt Gravatt. "Bugger it, " I thought, and swerved left to
head up for a Mt Gravatt Hill Climb.

Given that I left for work a bit later than usual, it was nice and warm for
the ride up. Luckily I had a full bidon of water, although I'd used half of
it trying to wash down that hairy fly - blecch!!

I pushed myself, and climbed using my rear 19-toother. It was hard going,
but I tried hard to keep my form clean, and it ended up paying off!! 8min
50sec - a PB by 10sec, and a 35sec improvement on my last attempt!!

After enjoying the view at the top, I descended and rode the rest of the way
into the CBD. The calf is still feeling good, which is another good sign.

The week of riding only is definitely helping me to assess how ready the
calf is for walking/running. I'm meeting up with Lotte & Glenn tomorrow
morning for a slightly longer ride. They're doing a river ride, and I'm
latching on at Dutton Park. Then, after riding home post-work, I'll give the
legs a rest over the weekend. If there are no twinges, I'll start the week
off with a long walk and see what happens next!! Fingers crossed!!

Oh, and many thanks for the tips and messages of support via your
'comments'. They've all helped, and have hopefully contributed to my steady
progress towards recovery!!

Just when I think I'm down...

2005-11-16T10:17:00.000+10:00

I commuted to/from work on the bike yesterday, and again this morning.

Predictably, I felt awkward & slow on the way in yesterday. But things
improved after that...

On the ride home yesterday, I planned to take it easy. So I concentrated
hard on form, and tried working at about 7/10 effort wise (normally my rides
home are at 9/10). It ended up being quite a quick-ish ride home, and I
finished feeling pretty good - much better than normal. Not breathless, etc.

So that got me thinking a bit this morning. When I rode in, I upped my
effort a bit more (to 8/10). So I was pushing myself a bit, but not flat
out. Normally, I'm either at 9/10, or 5/10 (lazy meander!), for my rides
into work... So I ride into the basement, and check the bike computer. And I
had set one of my fastest times!! 29min 26sec for my driveway-to-basement
time!! And I still felt good - definitely not like I had just set one of my
top 3 commute times ever...

So there you go. Always learning something about 'optimal states' for my
body to operate at. Maybe, if the calf still feels OK after riding again
tomorrow, I might end up having a hit out at Murrarie to see how I go...

Injury update

2005-11-14T12:01:00.000+10:00

Well, its been over just over 10 days since I injured my calf muscle. I've
done absolutely no running or 'power walks', and totally avoided my bike. So
where am I now....??

Well, the calf is feeling much better. I'm walking freely and without any
pain.

Only worrying thing is that at the end of the day, or if I ever do a short
sprint (like running across the road, or chasing one of the kids in the
backyard), I feel a dull sensation at the site of the injury... So obviously
its not fully healed yet!!!! :(

So where to from here??

I'm definitely feeling frustrated at my lack of bike/run training at the
moment. So I'm getting back on the bike this week. Nothing serious of course
- I'll spend this week just doing easy commutes to & from work. Hopefully
the easy workout will assist the muscle recovery a bit, plus satisfy my
mental need to get back on the bike!! Then next week, I'll start doing a
couple of long (about 40-60min) power walks. I'll re-assess progress then,
and hopefully I won't be too far away from doing some runs.

This delay is making me feel anxious about the tri in December. I am
desperately keen to do the race, and am already disappointed in the backward
step this 10 day lay-off has caused both my cycling and running...
Hopefully, in the long run, this will just be a small blip in my progress!!

Injury strikes!!

2005-11-03T15:38:00.000+10:00

A little bit has happened since my last blog entry - but I'll skip ahead to
current events...

Last night at about 9pm (nice & cool!!), I headed out for a short 4.5km run.
I was pretty excited, because I was christening my new running shoes - a
pair of New Balance 718's that I picked up from A-Mart for the bargain price
of $75 (50% off!!).

I've had some recent calf tightness, so I haven't gone for any runs for just
over a week. After some stretching, I headed off. The legs felt great, and
the shoes were definitely a huge improvement on what I'd been using. I was
running slowly, but strongly (if that makes sense!), and I felt good.

Then - disaster! With just over 1km to go, as I stepped with my left foot, I
felt a twinge in my left calf. "Huh?" I thought. Then, on the next left foot
step - BANG!! I actually felt this sensation of my left calf peeling in half
vertically. OOoooowww!!!!!! It really, really hurt!! I tried to run through
it, but it became clear pretty quickly what a bad idea that was. So I
hobbled the last bit home...

When I got back, I did some stretches and whacked an ice pack on the calf
muscle for about 30min. Then went off to bed. This morning, I rubbed some
Feldene anti-inflammatory gel into it. The calf is still pretty sore, and
I'm still hobbling on it.

The recovery plan now is to ice it two-three times each night, for about
30min at a time. And I'll use some Feldene gel in the mornings, and maybe
re-apply once during the day at work. I might grab a compression
bandage/tube for it as well to aid things along.

The most disappointing thing for me is this will probably knock me out of
the Cool Night Classic - the 5km run coming up next week. I was really
looking forward to it, but I think I need to stay away from running at least
until the end of next week to avoid re-injury. I'll stay off the bike over
the weekend as well, then just do some easy-peasy commutes to ease the calf
back into it.

I guess the only silver-lining is this gives me an excuse to get stuck into
my swimming!!

Shelling out for my feet

2005-10-28T15:07:00.000+10:00

My legs were feeling much better today. I've been having a ridiculously long
recovery time from my runs - extreme soreness (to the point it affects my
gait) for a couple of days, then residual soreness for a couple more.

I think its a combination of a few things. I'm still a running newbie, so
the muscles are still getting used to the pounding (as opposed to the
low-impact of the cycling).

Also, my shoes are probably contributing as well. I'm currently wearing a
pair of cheapies - Dunlop 'Avoca 2' joggers, bought for the princely sum of
$19.95 from Target back in January. I was thinking that if I stuck at my
running consistently until the December tri, I'd reward myself with a nice
pair of shoes in the January post-Christmas sales.

Lastly, my running surfaces have probably been poor choices. All my runs to
date have been along concrete footpaths. I try to use the crass verges when
I can, but inevitably this is only for short periods of the run...

So what am I going to do?? Firstly, I'm going to change where I run. For at
least the next month, I'm going to try and run to the local showgrounds,
which have a humungous grass oval in the middle. The plan is to run there
(probably only 1km), and then just run laps for 30min or so. That'll
hopefully help build up my non-existant running base on a much more
leg-friendly surface.

The other thing to do is to buy a new pair of shoes. I feel a bit lost these
days in the big shoe stores - the main brands on the 'running wall' seem to
be Asics, Brooks, New Balance, Saucony & Mizuno. I don't really understand
the difference betwene the shoes at all, so I think I'm just going to go for
a mid-range priced shoe, and see how I go. I know that A-Mart have a bunch
of New Balance, Asics & Saucony shoes heavily discounted at the moment (down
from $100-120, to about $50-60), and Rebel have a heap of Mizuno styles at
50% the marked price. So it seems like a good chance to grab a half-decent
pair without spending a small fortune...

In other news - I'm about to ease back into swimming again. I find swimming
pretty easy to pick up (its probably my 'naturally strongest' of the three
triathlon disciplines), so I decided to focus on fitting running into my
already packed cycling schedule for the last month or so. Now that we are
just under two months away from the Gatorade Tri in December, I figure I'd
better start getting some laps in. The plan is to head to the pool twice a
week, and just focus on building up my distance. Then I'll start worrying
about speed drills, etc, in the new year.

Let's hope the water isn't too cold!!!

An unexpected breakthrough!!

2005-10-25T09:07:00.000+10:00

Yesterday turned out to be a better day for cycling than anticipated...

Weather forecasts were dodgy, but I woke up to a morning of light cloud and
some fog. I'd arranged to meet Glenn at the Sherwood/Oxley Rds intersection,
so set out early for our 6:30am rendezvous.

It was another great ride. I was feeling good up the hills - slow (as
always!) but strong. All up rode about 32.5km at an average of 25.5km/h. My
average to the rendezvous point was 27.5km/h (13kms up and down a couple of
hills), which I was particularly happy with!

However, that wasn't the unexpected surprise...

In the afternoon, I heard reports of a big hailstorm coming from the north.
I checked out the bureau of meteorology website (www.bom.gov.au), and the
radar showed the storm tracking towards the Brisbane CBD. So just before
4pm, I decided to bail from work and try and make it home before I got caned
by the hailstones!!

Logan Rd heads outbound in a south-east direction, so I was hoping for a
storm-generated tailwind home. It turned out to be more of a crosswind, but
that was still much better than the bastard headwinds of my last few
commutes home!! I put my head down and really went for it all the way
home...

As I pulled into my driveway, the bike computer gave me a time of 29min 35
sec!!!!!!!! Totally obliterated my previous best for the homeward commute by
over a minute. I can honestly say that I have NEVER thought I'd break 30
minutes for my homeward commute. I hadn't even listed that down on my list
of cycling goals to achieve, as I thought I had no chance of doing it for at
least a couple of years.

I was so excited, I did a little dance around the lounge room, which amused
the girls. Now, I just need to work out a way to transfer my commute form
across to crit racing form!!

Confusing commute speed records

2005-10-20T15:06:00.000+10:00

There seems to be an inverse relationship between my crit racing performance
and my commute speeds.

On Tuesday, I was meant to be riding with Lotte and Glenn, but in the
morning I got texts from both doing a last minute pike. So I rode straight
into work instead.

I felt great on the bike. It was a cool, windless morning, and I was
pedalling strong and smooth. When I made it into work, my bike computer
clocked me at 28min 30sec (27km/h ave) - a new record, smashing my previous
best by almost a minute and a half!! I was pretty stoked, as you can
imagine...

The next day, I commuted in again. I rode in much later, as I was helping
Nic get the kids ready for school. I wasn't expecting a super-quick time,
what with the warmer morning and increased traffic (both cars & peds). But
when I made it into work, the computer read 29min 25sec (26.1 km/h ave) - my
2nd fastest time ever!!

I have no idea what is going on - my crit performance (as chronicled) has
been pretty poor over the last couple of weeks, but my commutes are
absolutely flying!! I wonder if I'm lacking strength in my legs for the crit
surges, or some endurance with the longer duration of the crits... Who knows
- I'll have to experiment a little with my training and see what happens!!

My active weekend

2005-10-18T08:59:00.000+10:00

I managed to squeeze both bike and running time into the rainy weekend.

On Saturday morning, I raced out at Murrarie again. The ride to the race
went extremely well - I actually set a new record for the short 9km ride
there up and down the hills of Creek Rd. In hindsight, maybe I should have
taken it a little easier...

After my spritely ride there, I had heaps of time to register, catch up with
Glenn & Mick, plus watch the end of the Elite & Cat 1 races. Jason Akermanis
(of Brisbane Lions fame) won Cat 1 - after winning Cat 2 last week!! He is
clearly an exceptional athlete...

Race time came at 8am, and we were off!! Felt good at the start, and took up
a position in the middle third of the bunch. It was a very windy day, with a
particularly nasty headwind tearing down the finishing straight of each lap.
I once again had trouble trying to find a good position to hide from the
crosswinds - oh well, another learning experience!!

I was cruising around, working hard, until about the 12-13min mark, when my
legs just seemed to give up the ghost. I drifted to the back, and just
couldn't keep my speed up enough to hold on. I was disappointed to drop off
the back of the bunch again (two weeks in a row!!)...

Of course, I kept going (hey, it was training!!). The winds whilst on my own
were an absolute nightmare. I managed to tack onto the group again for a
while when they came past, but I only lasted a few laps. I'm not sure what
has happened to my cycling legs. It seems like my endurance is fine, but I
can't handle the constant 'surges' with the pack. Not sure if this means I
need to do more strength training, or something else??

---

The rest of the weekend, we had lovely rains that kept up until Sunday
afternoon. I took the chance on Sunday arvo when it stopped, to dash out for
a run.

I had decided to do a 4.5km loop to the Holland Park Fire Station. To my
surprise, the running felt good!! My stride is becoming much more free and
'natural', which is a great sign. I'm still slow, but feeling much better.

As I came back towards Creek Rd, I decided to extend the run. I was feeling
much better than expected, so took advantage of it. I kept going along Logan
Rd until I reached St Bernard's school (cnr Logan & Klumpp Rds), then turned
around and headed home.

All up, it was a very satisfying 7.5km loop - my longest run yet on my
comeback trail!!! My legs felt a bit sore, particularly me left calf, but I
figured that is probably normal in my initial 'build-up' phase. Hopefully I
can keep this up!

My pace was a fraction over 7min/km (I told you it was slow!!), but I
actually felt like I was running instead of shuffling for the first time. It
was a great feeling, and I think it augurs well for the rest of the year...

The Why's of my goals...

2005-10-13T12:12:00.000+10:00

It is so hard to come up with sporting goals when you don't have unlimited
time.

At the moment, there is no question that cycling is my primary sport. I love
it, and see it as the sport that I'll still be doing 10 years down the
track.

So where does that leave triathlon? My motivations for getting back into
tri's are a bit different to the simple "I love it" for cycling. It is more
a story of having "unfinished business" in my tri career that I don't want
to leave undone.

A brief tri-history for me:
I got started in triathlon back in the early-to-mid nineties. My very first
tri was a little sprint distance race up at Suttons's Beach (in Redcliffe,
Qld). I think it was a 300/12/5, and I raced that using my old hybrid bike.
I have never been naturally athletic (I was more scholar than sportsman at
school!!), and the immense buzz I got from working towards, and finishing
that race was just amazing. Needless to say, I was sold on tri's...

A couple of years later of doing a few sprint distances a season, I decided
to step up and attempt an Olympic distance (OD) race - that's
1.5km/40km/10km. I really worked hard at it, and ended up racing the Hervey
Bay OD race - and finishing!! Geez it hurt, but I was filled with joy and
satisfaction at achieving my goal. A few months later, I also raced the
Mooloolaba OD race. I felt like I was on the cusp of achieving something
special. Nothing publicly special of course - I was relatively slow compared
to others - but reaching personal, athletic achievements that I never
thought I'd be capable of.

Unfortunately for me, after that season, life really got in the way. Not in
a bad way, though!! I met and married my wife. We had our first child, then
our second. My career and study stepped up a notch. And triathlon became a
fond memory that I would both wistfully and warmly look back on.

A couple of years ago, I decided it was time to get back on the bike. I was
overweight & unfit, and wanted to get healthy again - both for myself and as
a role model for my two daughters. Unfortunately, in Dec 2003, & again in
May 2004, I was hit by cars while commuting on the bike to work. Both
injuries led to 3-6 months off the bike (and all training!), and I was
starting to wonder if maybe my time had finally past.

In January this year, I finally stepped back onto the bike again. I weighed
almost 90kg (I'm only 1.75m tall!), and figured that this was my last chance
to give exercise and fitness a red hot go. Naturally, it was tough at first,
but I stuck to it. It helped a lot that I met up with a few others (Tam &
Lotte, take a bow!) that I could ride with regularly. And I also, for the
first time, made up a 'training diary' that I recorded all my rides in, so
as to keep me honest!!

So now I find myself here, 9 months later. I've lost about 8kg of weight,
and I am much fitter than before - in fact, I'm probably cycling better than
I ever did in my triathlon prime!! I have achieved cycling goals I never
thought I would, and am absolutely loving the sport. And that's what has
gotten me thinking about going back to triathlon....

I am watching my body change shape (slowly!!) back into the fitter shape it
once was. I feel stronger and fitter. And I am wondering if I have a chance
to 'go back' and finish off a few triathlon goals I never got around to. I
want to get through another OD tri, and finish a Half Ironman race. And
maybe, if my knees are up to it, have a go at an full Ironman.

So where does the tri-story end? I don't know. I am going to keep my tri
prep simple (as per previous posts), with the focus still on my cycling. And
I'll be aiming for just one or two races per season. This season, I'll be
doing one sprint race (probably the Gatorade series race in December) and
then going for the Mooloolaba OD in March 2006. If I do that successfully,
then I'll keep training through winter and aim for the Coomera Half Ironman
next Sept/Oct. And from there - who knows.

Big plans, I know. I can't wait to see how it turns out!!

Mt Gravatt hill climb

2005-10-11T15:57:00.000+10:00

After Saturday's less-than-impressive effort, I decided that I needed to
punish myself on the ride in this morning.

It has been a while since I rode up Mt Gravatt (over a month?), so I figured
it was time to re-acquaint myself with this harsh mistress. I left for work
pretty late (8:30am), so the morning sun had already started warming things
up pretty well...

I started the climb in my 5th-largest cog (I think its a 19-toother) and
felt pretty good. I was pretty pleased about that, because last time I
climbed the hill I sat in my 21-toother. As usual, it hurt. But I was able
to keep the pedals turning over, and at the couple of brief increases in
gradient, I got out if the saddle and stomped over them OK.

I reached the top feeling like I'd worked very hard, and registered a time
of 9min flat - a new record!! It feels good to know that I am slowly
improving.

The strategy from now on will be to stay in that 19-tooth gear, and try and
improve my cadence a little. I get the feeling I'm pedalling a bit too
slowly up the hill, so I won't be punishing my knees by turning it into a
strength effort!!

One step back... (RR: Murrarie crits, 8th Oct 2005)

2005-10-11T11:45:00.000+10:00

I had an absolute shocker at Murrarie on Saturday morning...

The ride there was easy enough (if not just a fraction slower than normal),
but I noticed the heat straight away!! Brisbane has definitely entered
summer, and I think that I'll have o get used to this heat pretty quickly.

When I arrived, the race precinct was very, very busy. The track was
packed!! Someone explained a bit later that they had a record number of Cat
1 entrants - so many that they had to split Cat 1 into two races. So there
was Elite, Cat 1 (1) & Cat 1 (2) all racing on the track at once!! Kudos to
the officials, who were able to make sense of the hordes of racers all going
around at once...

I watched for a while - the racing seemed very fast. There also seemed to be
a lot of new groups that had turned up from different clubs. There was a
large group from the UQ club, plus smaller ones from many other clubs. One
rider from UQ won the first Cat 1 race, but then threw both hands in the air
as he crossed the finish line - idiot!! He got disqualified as a result, and
was pretty upset about it as well... I don't necessarily agree with DQ'ing
people over this, but at least the officials at Murrarie are very consistent
with this.

Anyway, the masses of people meant that I didn't get to register for Cat 2
until 8am (the start time!!) even though I arrived and lined up at 7:30am. I
had to pin my number on quickly and run to the start - just making it in
time for the briefing and roll-off. Obviously some others missed it, because
as we came around the first time, a heap of others joined as well...

The race for me went pretty poorly. I struggled to find a good position in
the peloton. I usually sit on the inside, but I kept getting squeezed in the
corners by people not holding their line. So I pushed my way through to the
outside, but that just exposed me to some pretty strong head/cross winds
along two of the straights... I had no idea what to do, so I tried to push
my way through to the inside again.

This didn't work at all!! I couldn't find a way back into the 'cover' of the
peloton, so I decided to drop all the way to the back, and then work my way
back up the inside that way. Only thing was, once I dropped back, I couldn't
get back up!! The way through was pretty well blocked up, and I started
tiring pretty quickly from all the quick accelerations out of every corner
to try and keep up - riding in last wheel is generally a sure recipe for
getting dropped...

Sure enough, about one-third into the race, I got gapped off the back and
couldn't bridge it. I was pretty upset with myself!! I wasn't up to it
physically or tactically, so was done like a dinner... I managed to jump
back on when they came around again, but didn't last long before being
dropped again. I was knackered from my earlier efforts, and didn't have much
left in the tank. I ended up dropping out with about 15min to go to watch
the end and lick my mental wounds.

The race ended up being won by Jason Akermanis of Brisbane Lions AFL fame.
He's obviously got plenty of talent on the bike, and I imagine he'll be up
in Cat 1 next week (hopefully!!).

So - the wash up for me... I think I'm going to have to really get serious
about my training and stop dilly-dallying around. I'm guilty of taking it
easy on some of my rides, and the changing emphasis with my triathlon
ambitions has probably shown up that weakness even more - I have to make the
most out of it whenever I'm on the bike!!

I've always thought that one of the art's of success is to learn as much as
you can when you fail. So I'll have to remember this lesson and not make the
same mistake again. I'm going to ditch the triathlon race I was planning on
doing this Saturday, and instead put more effort into my training before
having my first attempt.

The Plan

2005-10-05T16:28:00.000+10:00

If I'm going to have a red hot go at this tri caper, then I at least have to
have some sort of plan in place for my training. This is what I am thinking
of as my weekly training volume...:

Swim: Two sessions per week. One being long, continuous distance. The other
being mixed up with technique drills and shorter intervals.

Bike: Commuting (but riding hard!!). Throwing in an MtG climb (maybe a
repeat as well), a longer loop out through Tarragindi/Toohey
Forest/Indooroopilly, plus weekend Murrarie crits (every 2nd w/end).

Run: Run to the swim sessions (that's 2 x 3km - which is short, but good for
the first month or two). Plus one longer run on the weekend.

On Tam's advice, I'll also have to make sure I do a bike-to-run practice
once a week. So, after one of my homeward-bound commutes, I'll throw on the
joggers and do a couple of laps around the block...

If I can consistently stick to this, then I think it'll set me up nicely for
a good tri season. I'll review it just before the New Year based on how I'm
going. I feel very excited about all this!! I haven't felt this sort of
"buzz for training" in a while, so fingers crossed I can translate that
feeling into some consistent efforts!!

Run for your life!!

2005-10-05T15:16:00.000+10:00

With the Gatorade tri looming on the not-so-far horizon, over the weekend I
decided that I should get my finger out of my bum, and start running
properly!!

Up until now, I've been doing run/walk sessions. Basically running one
block, walking one block. I feel like a bit of a nanna doing it, but the
whole aim of it was to 'responsibly' start running without killing my legs
or my knees. But I think I've been a bit lazy and kept this up longer than
necessary...

So on Saturday afternoon, I went for a run. Pulled on my trusty Dunlop
joggers, and then because I was feeling silly, I decided to go
super-colourful. Put on my bright fluoro-green Mooloolaba tri singlet, my
bright red Nike running shorts, and my bright blue lycra shorts underneath.
The kids were very amused, but then I felt a bit embarrassed when I headed
out the front door...!!

I ran a roughly 4.5km out-&-back, from my house to the Holland Park fire
station. To put it simply, I was awful!! I tried to keep up a 'stride', but
probably 90% of the run was actually a 'shuffle'. When I got home, my legs
already felt kinda sore, so I spent some time stretching out my calves &
quads.

My legs hurt for the next few days!! I tried to make sure I kept going on
short walks to stretch them out a bit, but it wasn't very much fun... But I
planned that this morning would be the follow-up.

After mucking about at home for much longer than anticipated, I headed out
for another run today. I headed for a 3km journey to the Hibiscus pool
complex. It was MUCH better (but still crap by most standards!). Although
the shuffle crept in a few times, I was able to maintain some semblance of a
running stride for most of it. The most annoying thing about it was my
backpack!! It was bouncing around everywhere, so I'll have to work on the
straps a little to see if I can make up a better fit.

Once I got to Hibiscus, I bought a 10-visit-pass, and jumped in for a quick
swim. I was planning a 1km+ session, but as I was running late already, I
cut that down to just 500m. The water was cold, but it was the perfect tonic
post-run!! It seemed to help my legs as well - afterwards, they felt much
better than usual. I'll have to remember that as an excellent post-run
recovery!!

Finally, it was time to head off to work. I jumped on a bus going past
Hibiscus. It said "Express to City" on the front, but it sure as hell
wasn't!! I was taken on a tour of Brisbane's southern suburbs, and it took
double what I expected timewise for my journey in!! I guess I'll have to do
some planning and hit the TransInfo website before next time...

The plan is to do this run/swim session twice a week all the way through the
tri-season. It was a fun way to start the day, and I'm definitely looking
forward to my next one!!

Educated, but not so bright...

2005-09-30T08:34:00.000+10:00

This morning I had another longer commute, riding in via Tarragindi, past
the Rocklea Markets, and through UQ. Met up with Lotte along the way, and we
set a quick but cruisy pace...

When I switched the phone on this morning, I was a bit worried the ride
wouldn't be happening!! It started beeping like crazy with incoming texts -
one from Tam piking out, one missed call from Lotte, and another from Lotte
asking if anyone was showing up!! I sent a quick one back saying that I
would be there, and set off.

After skipping the bike yesterday, the legs were feeling pretty fresh again,
so the commute to the Sherwood/Oxley Rds meeting point went quickly. I
averaged 28.2km/h for the (roughly) 14km journey to the rv, which includes
the two bastard hills through Tarragindi & Toohey Forest. I arrived at
6:22am, so was pleased with myself that I had broken my recent run of late
arrivals!!

Lotte came by just after 6:30, and we set off again quickly. Another
uneventful but fun ride in - except for a very scary moment through UQ......

We were about halfway around the UQ Ring Rd, and I saw a car (bearing a UQ
logo) driving through from a 'slip road' that merged onto the ring road. I
wasn't too concerned - I figured a UQ-logoed car would be pretty aware of
traffic conditions, cyclists, etc... :rolleyes: Anyway, he kept going and
came straight onto the ring rd, and tried to merge straight into me!!! I
freaked out - I couldn't swing right, as Lotte was there (we were riding
side-by-side), and I desperately grabbed for the brakes (knowing it was
probably too late for that anyway...). Luckily, the dude saw us just in time
and slammed his brakes on. He skidded for probably a full car length and
just missed taking us both out. Fortunately for me, I'd worn my
super-absorbent cycling knicks this morning... ;)

Final stats for the full ride in: 31km at an average of 26km/h.

Anti-wheelsucking curry

2005-09-28T14:02:00.000+10:00

Yesterday it was Mum's birthday, so last night we all headed out to a
Burmese-Thai restaurant for dinner.

It is a great restaurant!! It looks pretty unassuming, stuck in a little
suburban shopping centre next to a supermarket. But the food is
sensationally good!!

We all had some Tom Yum Goong (spicy, hot & sour prawn soup) for entree,
which was very nice. Then we had a selection of 5 dishes - two Burmese
curries, a Thai seafood curry, a chilli & lemongrass pork stirfry, and some
stirfried vegetables. My brother had generously taken it upon himself to
provide drinkies, so it was all washed down with some Spanish beers (which I
can't remember the name of), and some Margaret River white.

I was still feeling full this morning when I woke up early for a ride with
Lotte & Glenn. Tam was supposed to come too, but she piked after a very late
night at work (fair enough!). After spending a record 20min on the loo (that
curry was pretty hot!!), I was running late, so hotfooted it to the RV. I
pushed hard over the Tarragindi & Toohey Forest hills, which knocked me
around a bit, and seemed to slow me down for a little bit afterwards...

I made it to the meeting spot a couple of minutes late. I'm pretty annoyed
with myself about that - this is twice in a row now I've been late, and I so
do NOT want to be the guy who's always running late!!

Anyway - the ride in from there was uneventful, but fun. Glenn and Lotte
were in good form, and I cruised into work with the speedo showing just over
31km at 25km/h ave. Not a bad average speed for a ride that was mostly at a
relaxed pace.

The weather has really warmed up today (again!), so hopefully the winds will
be in my favour on the way home!!

The uncertain commute

2005-09-27T08:25:00.000+10:00

> Bit of a strange morning... I was sitting on the back steps at 0550. Some
> sprinkling rain had started, and I'd received a txt from Lotte saying that
> she was piking due to the menacing weather. I assumed that meant Glenn
> ("Retrograded") was out too - I'll need to get his mobile number in case
> there's any confusion in future...
>
> I was kinda stuck then. I couldn't just go back inside and get dressed
> into work gear - nothing was ironed and so I would've woken up Nic (read:
> bad idea). The sprinkly rain stopped just after 6, but I still wasn't
> sure... I chatted to my neighbour over the fence - he's a cyclist too (but
> heads south towards Logan each day), and neither of us could make up our
> minds what to do!! The cloud cover looked only light-medium, but off to
> the North (maybe NW), you could see some darker clouds...
>
> Eventually, at 0630, I decided to make the half-hour dash straight into
> the city. I've been hanging out for another ride, so decided that I'd take
> a risk - surely I'd make it in before any rain started??
>
> The commute was quick-ish, but the traffic lights seemed all out-of-synch
> - maybe my earlier departure meant they were operating under a different
> rotation?? Who knows... but it meant that I copped a lot of them!! Just
> after Stones Corner, as I skirted the freeway along the bike path, I could
> feel some spits of rain starting. Noooo!! Luckily for me, it didn't get
> any heavier, so there were no wet weather dramas.
>
> The roads in the CBD were actually very wet when I got in - obviously rain
> had passed through not long before. Hooray for good timing by me!! There
> were some minor navigational difficulties as well - at the top of my
> 'bikeway off-ramp', which shoots me up to the top of Adelaide Street from
> the riverside bikeway, they are doing some major work. So the footpath is
> totally closed, meaning I had to bunny-hop down a steep gutter into a bus
> lane, and follow that through onto Adelaide Street. I'll have to give some
> thought to that - there has to be a better way??
>
> Now, I just have to hope for clear weather on the way home!! Late storms
> are forecast for today - and the warmer, humid weather this morning
> suggests that might happen... Fingers crossed they wait until I get home!
>
I know I haven't blogged my two-week holiday yet - but be patient, my
lovelies!! It'll come..... :P

Holiday fun!!

2005-09-09T14:09:00.000+10:00

After today, I have two weeks off work. TWO WHOLE WEEKS!! I'm just a little
bit excited.... :D

I'm really looking forward to the mental break from work. Its been pretty
full-on, so the timing is good. Plus, it matches in nicely with teh
September school holidays - so I'll have a full two weeks with my girls.
Yay!!

Now, as always happens, I have a heap of thing sthat I want to get around to
doing on my break. What usually happens, is that I get one or two done (that
are easy) and miss the rest. So this time, I am going to utilise the 'fear
of public ridicule' to ensure I get my stuff done - by posting up everything
I plan to do, and giving an update in two weeks time. Here goes...

Yard stuff:
- Dig out my new garden beds
- Make up a planting plan, and get the darn plants in!!
- Move the cubby house
- Renovate the cubby house
- Heavily trim the mango trees and the poinciana

Playing with power tools stuff:
- Sand and restore the outdoor table
- sand and stain the coffee table
- fix the broken drawers in the kitchen
- maybe do some stuff to the kitchen (if $$$ allow)

Training stuff:
- do some swim sessions
- do some good running sessions

There's plenty of other stuff too. Hopefully, in two weeks time, I'll be
able to post a huge list of thing sthat I've managed to get done...

Headwinds are my friend??

2005-09-07T10:26:00.000+10:00

This morning I had a beautiful commute in. There was a very slight tailwind,
the temperature was warm, and the sky was a brilliant blue.

Last night was a different story though...

I had a total bastard slut of a headwind to deal with on the way home. I had
to downshift at least 1 cog the whole way. And on top of that I was still
getting gusts that would almost slow me to a stop.

Geez it was hard work!!

I kept repeating the mantra - "headwinds are my friend" - but I think they
are more of a hard & cruel mistress. I was the headwinds' bitch last night!

Race Report: Murrarie, Sat 3/9/05

2005-09-05T10:25:00.000+10:00

On Saturday, I once again headed out for the Saturday morning criterium
races at the Murrarie circuit.

I felt good about racing on Saturday. I'd had a good, consistent week of
riding, and the legs felt good. The only unknown variable for me was a
slight change in cleat position. My knees had felt a little 'weird' (very
scientific, I know!) over the last couple of weeks. So I did a bit of
internet research on seat position. I ended up deciding it wasn't that, but
some relted articles led me to tinker with my cleats a little. I moved them
forward (towards my toes) by 2-3 millimetres, to see if that would help...

The ride to the races was nice and wuick. My new cleat position felt good -
nice and responsive. Plus my legs were feeling snappy, so it was a good sign
for the race ahead.

I'd left much later than usual, after hitting the 'snooze' button on my
alarm (I am such a fool!!), so arrived at the race with just under 15
minutes until start. I saw Mick there, which was great. Said hello, then
dashed over to register and get 'set up' for the race.

My goals were similar to last week. I wanted to sit in the middle third of
the peloton for most of the race, be ready for the surge at the prime when
it came, and finish in amongst the peloton at the end of the race. I had
learnt from last week nutrition-wise (finally!), and about an hour before
the race (when still at home) I'd eaten a peanut butter and strawberry jam
sandwich on multi-grain bread.

I won't bore you with too many details about the race itself. Suffice to say
that it went very well for me!! Once again, I felt like I was working hard -
but this time I wasn't constantly being pushed to the back of the field. I
was able to hold generally hold my position in the middle third of the
peloton, which was great for me. Even better, at no stage near the end was I
gapped off the back, and having to struggle to get back on.

Lesson this week: Afer the prime, I was still comfortably with the peloton,
and so was there to see someone go for a solo breakaway straight away. I
wondered how he'd go... He was a Balmoral rider, and I watched wit interest
as 4 other Balmoral riders moved to the front of the peloton. They then all
sat up and soft-pedalled for a while - the speed dropped right back to only
34-35km/h! I heard some guys yelling at them to work harder, but the
Balmoral boys told them that if they wanted to chase, they were welcome to
come up the front... So that's how you 'control the peloton' and protect one
of your riders trying to break away! I was glad to be close enough to see
this happen...

The last couple of laps were messy, as well. Near the end of the 2nd last
lap, one rider tried a ridiculous manouvre from mid-pack to try and advance.
He cut right across one person, which sent a conga line of 4 cyclists off
the track (and out of the race). Luckily they all stayed upright, but their
race was over... Also, on the very last corner of teh entire race, a similar
thing happened. One guy swung very wide, and cut across the line of a few
guys. They all had to bail out into the 'field' to avoid an accident.
Luckily, I avoided all of these, but was in a good position to learn for
next time.

Best part for me was that Nicole and the girls turned up to watch the last
10 minutes of the race - so I had a cheer squad!! If I'd known they were
coming earlier, I would have put myself in a position to go for a solo
breakway just after they arrived.... *laughs* OK, maybe not. But it was
great to hear their cheers in the tough closing stages!!

Advocate for change!!

2005-09-02T09:31:00.000+10:00

I got a "Letter to the Editor" published in today's edition of the Courier
Mail - Brisbane's only daily newspaper. It was in response to an article
from yesterday, that described 'mega traffic chaos' after a series of
accidents during rush hour that 'crippled' our major feeder roads into the
CBD and airport.

Here it is, reproduced in full:
<i>
I refer to the article "Chaos behind the gridlock" (C-M, p5, 1/9/05). On the
day of the 'mega traffic jam', I enjoyed a quick, easy commute into my city
workplace on my bicycle. I safely travelled on a route utilising main roads,
back streets and bikeways, generally travelling much faster than the traffic
gridlocked on the streets.

I don't always commute on my bike, though. Whenever I'm feeling too tired,
its raining, or I'm just plain lazy - I catch the bus. I sit back, relax,
and read the paper or listen to my walkman, and occasionally look out the
window from the vantage point of the SE Busway as we rocket past the
stationary traffic on the freeway.

Many of the gridlocked routes highlighted in the article are well-serviced
by either bus or train routes - even the airport. It is time that the
commuters of Brisbane realised that their car shouldn't be their 'first
choice' for travelling to work. There are a variety of options out there for
them - some more physically active than others, but all of them much less
stressful and generally much quicker and cheaper.
</i>
I hope some people read and agreed with my sentiments. Even better if it
inspires one or two to ditch their 'cage' and at least try an alternative!!

The buttock master

2005-09-01T10:15:00.000+10:00

On Tuesday night, Nic & I ( and a group of friends) headed in to the
Performing Arts complex (QPAC) to see the musical "Saturday Night Fever". I
haven't been to any of the major musical productions that have been doing
the rounds over the past few years - but my in-laws generously gave me a
couple of tickets for my birthday earlier in the year, so off we went...

We headed into Southbank first for a quick dinner. We arranged to meet the
rest of the group at "Ginga" - a small Japanese restaurant on Little Stanley
St. It has a more formal restaurant section, and a casual al fresco eating
area that is 'counter service' with a smaller menu. We took the casul 'al
fresco' option as we had to get to the show...

We enjoyed the food - Nic and I shared some steamed gyozo dumplings, tempura
sushi rolls, and chicken yaki-soba noodles. All pretty simple, but well made
and delicious. The food only cost us $17 altogether, so it was great value
as well. We washed it all down with some pink champagne (all the girls) and
a Sapporro beer for me (a malty Japanese beer).

We walked off dinner and headed to the Lyric Theatre at QPAC for the show.
We had good seats, about halfway back in the groud level 'stalls' in row L.
The show itself was fantastic. Funny, exciting, loud and energetic. While
not a huge fan, I do enjoy the Bee-Gee's music, so it was fun to listen to
it all again...

One of the funnier highlights for me was the guy who played the role of the
DJ at the 'Odyssey 2001' nightclub. His outfits were hilarious! But he had
this amazing ability (which he obviously enjoyed showing off) to jiggle his
buttocks (seperately!!) to the rhythm of the music. An awesome display, and
I bow down to his mastery of the buttock jiggle!

Afterwards, we headed back to Southbank for coffee & cake. We ducked into
Toscani's, and instead opted for a thick Italian 'hot ciok' - a very yummy,
gooey chocolate 'drink' that you really need a spoon to eat. I managed to
sell that to everyone else at the table, so they followed my lead - and
fortunately they all enjoyed it as much as I did!!

We got home, and woke up my father-in-law who was asleep on the couch. We
really are very lucky that both sets of parents are able and willing to
babysit the kids whenever we want to head out. Don't know if I would've
spent the $70 per ticket myself on Saturday Night Fever, but it was
definitely a fun night out...

Magpie Attack!!

2005-08-31T11:29:00.000+10:00

On Monday, I copped my first magpie attack of the season...

One of the few 'native animal' perils of living in Brisbane is the magpie.
Normally, its a harmless enough animal that'll leave you alone if you leave
it alone. Plus, it eats lots of bugs that hang out in the garden, so they do
make a positive contribution in the great cycle of nature. But come late
August, they experience a 2-3month long personality transplant!!

Late August - early November is their breeding & hatching season. It is the
male's job to defend their nest and young against predators, and they get an
accompanying hormone boost to fuel their aggressive role. As a result,
they'll swoop and attack anything that they moves through their 'territory'.

They are pretty good at attacking as well. Generally, they will move up on
you from behind, and then go for your head with beak/claws/wings. Later in
their season, as they get more practiced, they will actually go for ears and
eyes. Usually the only warning, if you are lucky, is a brief shadow in front
of you a few seconds before the attack...

Defence can be tricky, and is usually ineffective at best. I've had some
success with waving a waterbottle or frame-pump around my head. I think it
makes it difficult to attack me, and so they hover for a few seconds then
give up. The accompanying adrenaline surge is usually enough to give me a
good speed boost as well!!

Anyway, back to Monday. I was about to do a u-turn on Creek Rd, right at the
start of my commute. As I slowed down, something smashed into the top of my
helmet - hard and fast. I glanced up quickly and saw the little bastard
hovering and looking for another angle, so I started yelling, waving my left
arm over my head, and pedalling like crazy to get out of his territory. Gave
me the fright of my life!!!

So now, I've had to make a slight alteration to my commute - through the
petrol station, along about 100m of footpath, then flick back onto Creek Rd.
It'll only be for a few months, and will be worth it for the reduced stress
of avoiding the psycho bird.

RR: Murrarie Crits 27th August 2005

2005-08-29T10:59:00.000+10:00

On Saturday, I headed back to Murrarie for another crack at the criterium
races which are held by my club, Balmoral.

I left home at 7:15am and rolled into the Murrarie grounds at about 7:40. I
saw Lotte and her Paul (Paulie), as well as Paulie's mum, Lorraine, in the
carpark. After some quick hello's I headed over to register.

It was warmed up pretty quickly, so just before race start, I ditched my arm
& leg warmers, and then headed over to the start. The three of us moved our
way to the front for the briefing, and just after 8am, we were away!!

My plans for this week were pretty simple.
1. Stay with the peloton until the end and not get dropped;
2. Do this by trying to sit no further back than the middle third of the
pack;
3. Practice tactics (for the future!!) by trying to move up into the front
third every few laps.

Being an unco idiot, I managed to miss my pedal, so Paulie and Lotte took
off first. I pushed a bit hard to move towards the front and find them, and
saw Lotte way up ahead in 4th wheel!! Wow - I figured she must be feeling
good this morning, and settled myself at the 'rear of the first third' (if
that makes sense) of the field.

My legs seemed to warm up pretty well, which was encouraging. After two
laps, Lotte dropped back to where I was. She looked pretty knackered - no
surprise considering how much work she'd been putting in near the front!! I
told her to get in on my wheel and moved forward a bit, but I don't think
she heard me... I saw her on the side of the track at the 20min mark, so I'm
not sure when she pulled off.

So the race for me was going well. I felt like I was working hard, but in a
good way rather than a painful way. I was able to move up around the outside
of the pack a few times, and then let myself drop back to midfield. It was
all good!! As we approached the 20min mark, I knew the prime must be close.
I wanted to move upfront - not to contest it, but to give myself a buffer
when the surge came, and not get dropped!! I looked around for Paulie, and
saw that he was already up there, so I pushed hard and worked my way up to
the front third.

My timing was good, because the whistle blew as we crossed the start/finish,
and the leaders picked up the pace. I guy next to me said, "what the hell
does that whistle mean??". Evil Paul wanted to tell him something stupid
("everyone has to stop, pick up their bikes, and run for a lap..."), but I
couldn't think quick enough, so just gave him a 5sec explanation of the
prime. I managed to stay on, which was great - althugh if the leaders hadn't
eased up after crossing the line, it would have been touch & go!!

For me, the complexion of the race changed markedly after that. My legs
seemed to running out of petrol, and I gradually started struggling more and
more. Poor nutrition pre-race was an issue again - when will I learn?!

At 30min,after steadily moving backwards, I realised I was in last wheel.
Not good!! I knew I was working harder back there because of the whole
'rubber band' thing, but I couldn't get myself further up into the pack. So
I just resolved to hold on, keep pushing, focus on technique, and stay on!!

Occasionally, a small gap would open up between me and the pack, but I kept
working and managed to close it down and tack back on each time. I felt
really proud of myself for holding on like that, but geez it hurt!! I was
very happy to see the "3 laps to go" sign come up...

Near the end of the 2nd lap, I heard everyone ahead of me start yelling!!
"Hey!! Watch Out!! Steady On!!" I death-gripped the handlebars, and got
ready to take evasive action - I could see nothing up ahead, but was very
worried someone was going to go down and take the rest of us out with them!!
Paulie told me later that it was just a couple of riders getting carried
away at the end, getting too physical and using their shoulders to knock
people out of the way. Luckily, everyone stayed upright!!

We reached the end of the race, and I drifted off the back as we hit the
finishing straight. I was relieved that the pain was over, and pleased that
I'd made it to the end with the peloton for the 2nd time. Once again, many
lessons learned, and plenty of positives to go with it.

Paulie once again did very well. Apparently he had a loose cleat though (I
heard him squeaking during the race!!), and so didn't contest the print. I
think Lotte lasted 4-5 laps, but as usual worked her butt off thorughout...

Lifestyle construction and maintenance

2005-08-26T12:20:00.000+10:00

When you sit down to try and work out what makes you happy, and what your
current life priorities are, its a pretty complicated thing. There can be no
simple answers, no straight forward 'rankings' you can attribute to
different components. Its all in the synergies that the combinations create
that seem to make the final package good, robust and healthy.

For me, my wife and daughters are undoubtedly my highest priority, and my
greatest source of happiness. All 3 of 'my girls' are magical creatures that
make me smile just thinking about them. And they are undoubtedly the rock
around which I build the rest of my life...

So what else is there?? Well, the other three biggies currently are work,
study and cycling.

Work is a little suckful at the moment. I'm not in my normal position, but
instead am helping out another area that is suffering a pretty severe
staffing shortage. There work is considered an 'organisational priority',
and so we need to make sure they can still pump out their usual workload.
The job, though, is a pretty boring one. Suffice to say that I'm very happy
to finish up at the end of the day, and I'll be even happier to get back to
my normal work in a couple of weeks time.

Study is currently in 'sabbatical'. Way back after I left high school, I did
a maths degree at QUT. Not because I loved maths - but rather because I was
very good at it, and didn't know what else to do. Since then, work supported
me in completing a Psychology degree (which I studied externally) through
the Uni of Southern Qld out at Toowoomba. That was great - absolutely loved
it.

After finishing, they offered me a place in the Honours program, which I
took up - but that didn't go very smoothly at all. I was already feeling a
bit burnt out from the work/study juggle, and I should've given myself a
break before taking on Honours. Then, halfway through, I had my two big 'car
versus me' accidents on the bike. They both resulted in me missing chunks of
study time, and so in the end I dropped out after being assured I could
re-join sometime down the track when I was ready...

I am actually quite enjoying being away from study at the moment.Its really
nice to not have to be planning assignments and research projects, liaising
with supervisors, etc, etc. Just being able to head home after work, play
with my girls, and not having Uni deadlines in the back of my mind is truly
wonderful. I intend to go back at some stage, but this 'sabbatical' is
definitely a good thing...

The final 'biggie' in my life at the moment is cycling. It has been the
perfect complement to everything else that's going on. My commutes to and
from work are great - wake me up and set the day up, then make it very easy
to de-stress and let the day go on the way home. My move into crit racing
has made it even better - its given me some impetus to train more and harder
(like with the Mt Gravatt hill climbs), and has given me an outlet for my
competitive urges (kinda funny when you look at my ability level, but
anyway...). Plus its meant I've widened my circle of friends. Its been great
to link up with Tam and Lotte (one day I'll work out how to link to their
blogs... :rollseyes:) and Lotte's Paul, plus a whole bunch of other
Brisbane cyclists. They are kinda different to the usual crowd I hang out
with (in a good way!), and have definitely added value to my life for
knowing them. Thanks guys!!

Hmmm - that's a lot of writing, isn't it!! I think where I was heading was
how this all interacted together. When one part wanes (like work at the
moment), another part (like cycling) seems to kick up a gear and fill the
hole that's been left. Sometimes it can go pear-shaped - especially when all
areas are moving along well and you risk total exhaustion!! But I'm very,
very fortunate to have a mix of things filling my life that are important to
me... My family and cycling are the two biggies at the moment. I know
working at the moment just seems to be the 'filling' between two bike rides
to & from!! Hopefully when I return to my rewarding 'normal' work, I can
absorb that without impacting on the other two that are travelling so well.

The longest day

2005-08-22T13:57:00.000+10:00

Yesterday, I went for my longest bike ride ever.

On Saturday, I was planning to race out at Murrarie. But work got in the
way, and I had to head into the office for a few hours instead. Not happy!!
But I did want to get a good ride in over the weekend...

So on Sunday, I headed out for the Balmoral Club (which I'm a member of)
training ride. Its held every Sunday, meeting at the Murrarie circuit at
6:30am. It heads out to the eastern suburbs of Brisbane - covering Wynnum,
Lindum, Cleveland, Raby Bay, Wellington Point & Victoria Point. The weather
was fantastic, and it was very nice cruising along roads fronting Moreton
Bay, under warm, blue winter skies.

The ride, including the 'commute' to/from the start, was a whopping 94km. My
average speed was 28.3km/h for the three-plus hours I was in the saddle. We
seemed to sit on about 32-ish km/h for most of the day, which was a good,
steady pace. I faded very quickly on the 9km ride home, which probably
contributed to the lower average speed.

I learnt a bit about nutrition on this ride, by the way my body handled it.
I ate nothing before the ride (yes, I am an idiot), and threw a Snickers
Marathonbar into my jersey pocket for later. And my bottles were filled with
a dilute mix of sports drink.

About an hour or so into the ride, I noticed I was starting to feel nauseous
whenever we slowed down or stopped at traffic lights. Not good!! Wasn't sure
what to do... But at about the 90min mark, we had a very brief toilet stop
out past Raby Bay. I took the opportunity to eat half of my marathon bar -
nausea gone!! Obviously I needed to get something in my stomach before I
left...

At the two-hour mark, we stopped for 15min at Tanya's for a coffee hit. I
thought it would be a relaxing break, but they were pretty strict on being
in & out within 15 minutes. I ordered a long black with just a touch of
milk, and sugared it up (not normal for me). Lots of other people ordered
danishes or muffins to go with it, but I just ate the rest of my bar. I'd
pay for that later...

I really started hurting at about the 80km mark. There was some physical
hurt from the legs pushing to their limit, but I could also feel the start
of a 'bonk' - I was running out of energy!! In retrospect, I should have
eaten something at the coffee stop - another lesson learnt... The hills on
the final ride home down Creek Rd were just plain painful. I sucked down a
heap of the leftover sports drink, but that just made me feel a bit bloated.

So what will I do different next time?
1. Eat something before the ride!! Even if its just a slice of multigrain
with some peanut butter and jam, I need something in my tummy before I
start.
2. Eat something during the ride!! I need to eat a little bit of a sports
bar (or gel, etc), to keep energy levels up and keep the stomach settled.
3. Take advantage of the longer stop mid-way, and eat something then too. I
should have bought a muffin or danish to top up the energy levels again
too...

Its not everyday I do such a long ride - but I know I'll do it again because
it was a lot of fun!! Next time I'll be a bit more prepared and be able to
make the most of it...

29min 52sec

2005-08-16T13:04:00.000+10:00

Yesterday, I managed to tick (for only the second time!) something off my
list of athletic goals.

Ever since I started cycle-commuting into work, I have wanted to break 30
minutes. That's 30 minutes door-to-door, bike computer time (ie. not
counting stops at traffic lights, etc). So, over the past 5-6 years, I have
strived for this mark. I have gotten close, only to be denied by injury,
inconsistent training, or my two car-vs-me accidents...

I knew I was coming close over the last few months, especially given how
consistent my riding has been (both in quantity & quality), plus all the
technical tips from Tam. But yesterday, I finally broke through!!!

When I glanced down at the bike computer when parking my bike in my
buildings basement (in the Brisbane CBD), I nearly yelped with excitement.
Then I did this weird little jig in my new cycling shoes, which nearly
injured me... I was hoping that someone from work would ride in just behind
me, so I could tell them all about it. Instead, I called my wife at home and
told her - she made suitable noises about how pleased she was, which was
nice!!

Final stats for the ride - Dist: 13.05 km, Time: 29min 52sec, Speed:
26.1km/h ave

Yay!!! I rock!!!

Gerbera love...

2005-08-15T11:21:00.000+10:00

On Sunday, after spending most of the day doing housework, I escaped into
the yard to catch up on some jobs I'd neglected.

After mowing the frontyard and the nature strip, I had a look at how one of
my front garden beds was looking. I had let it run a bit rampant over
winter, but last weekend I'd ripped all the weeds out, and laid down a thick
layer of very nice compost. I have 3 compost heaps in the back corner of my
yard (building up; sitting & festering; and in use), and the 3rd pile had
developed into lovely, black nutrient-rich compost.

It looked pretty good, so I was wondering what to do next. The bed has a
bordering row of rhoeo along the front. They look a bit like little cacti
(kind of) with sharp leaves that are green on top, and purple on the
underside. So I wanted to put some sort of flowers behind them. I was
thinking about putting some gazania's there, but then remembered my
gerbera's...

I planted some gerberas at various spots around the yard some years ago. I'd
seen a segment on "Burke's Backyard", where a gardener had said that if you
can't grow gerberas, then you should give up... I took that as a challenge,
and threw some seedlings in. They have been sitting in the worst possible
sites, in the worst possible soil, getting little water and absolutely no
fertiliser. But they keep growing and flowering!!

I decided that my long-suffering gerberas should be rewarded. So I pulled
them out, and cleaned all their roots up. Then transplanted them together
into the renewed front garden bed. The 6 plants are a mix of white, pink &
red flowers (when they eventually flower), so hopefully will make a nice
display. Knowing my luck, they'll actually respond badly to the excellent
conditions and die off - but they have rewarded me well over the years, so
maybe they'll see this as a 'holiday' in lovely new surroundings and grow
accordingly!!

Oh darlin', don't step on my CF shoes...

2005-08-15T10:13:00.000+10:00

On Saturday, I finally bought a new pair of cycling shoes.

My first & only pair of cycling shoes were Carnac tri shoes. They have
lasted me for almost 12 years, and have been fantastic. Unfortunately, the
front of the sole on the right shoe has started coming away from the upper.
I definitely didn't want to rip my sole off mid-ride (a la Tam!!), so I
started the search for a new pair.

My budget was fairly restrictive, so I did the rounds of many soouthside
bike shops. I wandered into Rebel Sport near my place, actually looking for
arm warmers... They had a table in the "Wheels in Motion" bike section,
fully laden with "Go-On-Sport" cycling shoes, on a clearance sale!! I
couldn't believe my luck!!

I ended up with a pair of the "Pave" cycling shoes. They have a carbon fibre
sole, a mesh/vinyl upper, and 3 velcro straps. They were originally $199,
but were marked down to only $100 - BARGAIN!!!

The big difference I noticed was how the extra straps held my forefoot much
tighter/snugglier. It has meant that on the 'upstroke' of pedalling, it all
feels much more responsive. I am very pumped with the new purchase -
hopefully I'll get at least few good years of service out of my new shoes!!

Mt Gravatt hillclimb #5

2005-08-11T11:55:00.000+10:00

This morning, I was planning on a longish, extended commute into work. My
alarm went off at 0600. But the next thing I knew Emma had run into our
room, and was jumping on top of us. And it was 0745!! What happened to that
missing 105 minutes?!?!

So I got ready, and ended up riding up Mt Gravatt instead. It been just over
a couple of weeks (I think) since I've done the hill climb, so was unsure
how I'd go...

The climb was painful and hard. The plan (which I stuck to!! Yay!!) was to
use the 21-tooth ring as my main climbing gear for the ascent, and upshift
to a smaller one if I felt up to it at easier points. Pushed myself hard,
and it hurt. But I finished in 9min 40sec at the summit - anothe record!!
Very encouraging that I'm continuing to improve...

I think doing the climb is very good for me mentally. I always suffer, and
its good to go through that but still come out with a 'victory' at the end.
I really need to ensure that I stick with doing MtG once a week...

I've seen a cycling saying bandied around about hill-climbing. "The hills
never get any easier, you just get faster...". That seems to match very well
with my climbing. Mt Gravatt always hurts just as much, but I get to the
summit a bit quicker each time.

I'll be racing again this weekend, but not sure where yet - either Murrarie
or Crestmead. Hopefully I can stick with the peloton again!!

Calves of not-steel...

2005-08-09T12:05:00.000+10:00

Earlier talk of knowing my limits has proved to be quite relevant.....

On Saturday, I was supposed to be racing at either Murrarie or Nundah.
Unfortunately, it all went pear-shaped. I had to go to work all morning,
which knocked out Murrarie. Then, it became all too hard to make it to
Nundah. Nicole wanted to get some stuff done over teh afternoon, and trying
to get to Nundah & back in time would hae required razor-sharp timings. And
seeing as I'd already spent zero time with my house full of wonderful girls,
I decided to ditch Nundah and hang with them instead.

By late afternoon, I was feeling antsy about not having done any training at
all, so I decided to go for a run. Well actually, a run/walk. I want to get
into running again, so I'm baby-stepping my way there. I did roughly 5km,
alternating running/walking as I reached the end of each block. It went
pretty well, so I'm keen to keep it up!! Caitlin came with me on her
scooter, and in true style sledged me as she went, "Gee Dad, you walk much
slower than Mum...". Thanks Caitlin... :)

Downside of my running effort though, was my calf muscles were super-sore.
They bloody hurt!! I was shuffling around all Sunday like an old man. I
reckon' it was probably a combination of the high-impact poundinfg they
weren't used to, plus gumby running form that over-stressed them.

On Monday, I met up with Tam at 0600 for a long commute in, meeting up with
Lotte out at Sherwood. I love doing that commute - riding with Lotte & Tam
is loads of fun, and the route is great too. My calves were still sore,
which I really noticed up the hill-climbs, but apart from that they were OK.

I left work early to get home for Nicole. She was in a car accident earlier
in the day (I'll blog that later), and wanted to give her some TLC. The ride
home was actually very good!!

Tam had mentioned to make sure I ride "heel's down" to keep my calves nicely
stretched. I did this, and it seemed to make a noticeable difference,
especially up the hills. I have no idea of the biomechanics of this change,
but I was able to sustain a much nicer rhythm heading uphill. On the biggest
hill heading home (up to the Holland Park shops), I even was able to
up-shift to the next smaller cog and sustain it all the way to the top.
Something to remember...

Knowing my limits

2005-08-05T13:30:00.000+10:00

This week has been (for me) a good week on the bike.

Now, most of you will probably laugh hysterically at my distances for the
week, but please remember that I'm still working my way up, so try and hold
off on the derision for at least a moment!!

Anyway - this week is the first time since my last 'car vs me' accident that
I have commuted into work 4 days in a row (Mon-Thur). Add in "Lotte's Loop"
to the Thursday commute, and that's given me a grand total of 119km so far
this week. I'm very pleased with myself. That's 2 weeks in a row of 100km+,
and I'm on track to beat last weeks 140km.

Yesterday afternoon though, on my commute home, I think my legs had had
enough. Its only a short 13km ride home, up a couple of hills, but the legs
really struggled. I felt fit enough, I don't think my heart rate was really
high (no HRM to check though), but it was like my legs felt unable to go
very hard. I finished about 1.5km/h less than normal, so I don't think it
was wildly significant...

So at least now I know my short-term limits. I might restrict myslef to 4
days in a row max for a while, and let the legs get used to it.

Also learned another thing - when I'm tired or fatigued, my technique goes
to the sh#tter... UP the last hill, about half way up, I realised how poor
my form was. I was tugging hard with each stroke on the handlebars, my
upperbody was swaying all over the place, and I was pedalling a bit
erratically as well. When I concentrated harder on technique, I got a bit
more comfortable, which was a good feeling. Seems crazy that when the body
is tired, it will opt for a less efficient riding style!! But I'm glad I
recognised eventually what was going on, so I can improve on that for the
future...

I'll be racing out at the Nundah crits for the first time tomorrow. Fingers
crossed I can hold my own out there!!

Breathing rarefied air...

2005-08-05T11:06:00.000+10:00

Last night, Nicole and I headed off to a cocktail party at Government House.

Nic had volunteered for the Qld Music Festival, working at the Spiegeltent
(see previous posts). All the volunteers, plus the QMF staff & directors,
were invited by Quentin Bryce (the Qld Governor) to a cocktail party as a
'thank you'. And so we found ourselves on our first visit to the rarified
air of Brisbane's upper-class *laughing*...

Government House (the Governor's residence) is also known as 'Fernberg'. It
is a 17 hectare property with a large mansion that sits atop the hills of
Paddington. It looks spectacular, in a very regal sort of a way. There wer
eplenty of strapping young men dressed in 'tails' to usher us through the
mansion to the ballroom where the party was taking place. Their uniforms
looked like they had military insignia, so I assume that there is a military
section that looks after some security aspects of the Governor's residence.

A little after 6pm, one of the 'guards' entered with a handheld 'gong'. He
gave it a whack, which filled the room with a resonating sound. "Please,
silence for the entrance of Her Excellency, Governor of Queensland, Dr
Quentin Bryce!!". We all were quiet as Ms Bryce entered the room. After a
few seconds, someone from the back yelled out, "What do we do now? Clap?".
Everyone (including the Governor) burst out laughing, and Ms Bryce launched
into a brief speech about her highlights of the QMF.

After that, we settled into the 'party'. There was plenty of food and drink.
It seemed that every time I finsihed my glass of beer, or Nic finished her
champagne, a waiter was there at our elbow pushing another glass into our
hands. The food included prawns, oysters kilpatrick (I don't know where they
sourced there oysters, but they were fantastic!), and lots of savoury finger
food which was exceptionally good. They were very generous with the amounts
of food and drink, which we really enjoyed.

Met lots of people. Most notable, I guess, was the Chief of Staff at Govt
House (& her husband) who came over to chat with us when they saw us
admiring some of the paintings. They were very likeable people, and seemed
to genuinely enjoy showing off diferent parts of the mansion.

So it was a terrific evening. I felt like a bit of a tosser for being so
excited about going. Its pretty uncool to be excited about a 'formal
cocktail party', but it seemed like an opportunity that we may not get again
soon, and it was fun to do something that was so out of the ordinary for us.

We finished the night with a drive up to the lookout at Mt Coot-tha, and had
a coffee overlooking the ever-expanding urban sprawl of Brisbane.

RR: Murrarie Crits - 30July2005

2005-08-01T08:50:00.000+10:00

Finally - I can call myself a Cat 2 rider!!

It was a cool but very nice Sat morning, and I rolled out of the driveway at
7am, meeting Mick just down the road. It was good to catch up with someone
new, and it made for a quick 9km ride to the circuit...

Arrived at Murrarie, and found Tam, Lotte and her Paul near the registration
desk. We all signed up and watched the end of the elite & Cat 1 races.

At 8am, it was time for us to start. We got the briefing at the start line
(40min + 3 laps, prime at halfway), and we were away!! My goal before the
race was to hold on for longer than 3 laps (my previous best). I was feeling
pretty good, so was hoping for more, but didn't want to be unrealistic.

I started off in the front third of the group (about 50 riders, I think...),
and on the brief neutral section (about half a lap) I eased back into a spot
smack in the middle. I settled onto the back wheel of a guy in USPS gear
(mainly because he was large-ish!!), and crossed my fingers.

It was a very messy peloton!!! People seemed to be riding all over the
place. Lots of people unable to hold their line around corners, and cutting
back & forth amidst the group on the straights. I don't know if this is
normal - I'm not used to being in the peloton!! - but it made sure my
concentration kept sharp throughout the race.

I passed through the start/finish after 3 laps, and smiled to myself at my
personal victory - I'd beaten my record!! Another 3 laps later, I was STILL
in the group. I moved up near Tam who was in teh front third, and grinned,
"I've smashed my record". But she was growling about the all-over-the-place
riders ahead of her.

I decided to try and learn a bit, so let myself ease back to the back third
of the group, then work my way back up to the front third. It was hard work,
but my legs felt good, and it was a good way of getting a feel for how the
peloton worked. I was kicked wide on one corner, and the sudden exposure to
the wind knocked me all the way to the back, so that was a valuable
experience as well.

At the 26min mark, the whistle finally blew for the prime sprint lap. I was
cruising along in the back third, and wondered what would happen... Well,
the pack suddenly surged pretty hard, and the whole group strung right out.
I saw a gap open up between my back third and the rest, and it widened.
Crap!! I got out of the seat, and went berserk around the outside of the
half-dozen riders ahead and tried to brige the gap. Did this for half a lap,
ad heading down the finishing straight, I thoght I'd lost touch and my dream
run was over. Looked back, and 3 riders were on my wheel following me up,
and I was hoping one would swing past and give me a break!! Very, very
luckily for me, the main pack sat up a bit after the prime finished, and I
just made it back on. I was knackered, but was able to 'rest' for a while as
no more surges came for a few laps. If they had, I think I would have lost a
lap for sure...

I spent the rest of the race protecting myself in the middle third. The
riding seemed to get messier still, but I just kept holding my line and
position, hoping that no-one would stack it ahead of me. In the final couple
of laps, I thankfully anticipated the surge (Yay!!) and was ready to up the
pace and stay with the group. I gave a little victory 'clenched fist' as I
crossed the line, which amused the guy beside me, and rolled around one more
time.

Got lots of positive support from Tam - thanks dude!! She can take a lot of
credit for this, as her pedalling technique tips made a big difference!!
Paul did pretty well, as did Tam. Lotte dropped off after a couple of laps I
think, but in true style, worked hard in an ITT effort - nice work mate!!
Mick looked pretty good as well - I kept spotting him up the front and he
looked pretty comfortable.

Since then, I've been walking around with a silly grin on my face, very
pumped by my 'breakthrough' performance. I've shaken off the feeling of
being a 'pretender' in Cat 2, and finally feel like I belong there. Once
again, I have a whole new set of skill sto learn - its like the better I
get, the more I realise I have to learn!! But that's a great feeling too...

Stones Corner ITT, and commuting bits...

2005-07-27T11:00:00.000+10:00

This morning, I did another Stones Corner ITT to try and judge how I was
going...

The ride felt really good. It felt like I was moving pretty quick, and my
effort seemed less than normal (I eased into a couple of lights that I
missed!!). As I went through Stones Corner, the bike computer had me at an
average speed of 29.8km/h. I was a little disappointed as I was hoping to
crack 30km/h, but still happy overall...

My overall speed for the commute was 25.3km/h, which IS a record. Very happy
with that, given that I rode at very safe speeds through the bikepath
segments after Stones Corner. Stopped the clock at work (Brisbane CBD) in
30min 54sec, so I'm getting closer to cracking that elusive 30min mark!!

I actually had to stop and check the bike at one point. After I'd gone
through the back of Stones Corner, I cut across a bit of grass to join up to
the bike path. I managed to hit a huge chunk of concrete that was hidden in
the grass, and the bike jumped all over the place. I thought the bike was
OK, but the ride was feeling a bit "spongy" after that. Couldn't work it
out... Stopped just before Southbank and checked if I was losing air from
the tyres after the 'bump', but they seemed OK. They were still in true as
well. Oh well, I'll see how it feels on the way home before I panic...

Embarrassing moment: stacked it at traffic lights this morning. Standing
still. I was at the top of the little rise to the Marshall Rd intersection,
unclipped and went to put my left foot down. But my left foot slipped when I
put it down, and I stacked it onto the traffic island!! Luckily, my right
foot unclipped in the process, so it wasn't too hard to get up!! Felt like
even more of a loser than usual - but had a good laugh at myself, and got
back on...

Ego-boost moment: This happened on Monday. Heading home, I caught up with
this particularly attractive tall blonde girl riding a hybrid. She was
pretty quick - I started off using her as a 'target' to try and chase down
so I wasn't lazy on the commute, but I wasn't making up much ground!! Her
hill-climbing wasn't great though, and that helped me catch her. I
eventually rolled up next to her at the Holland Park Fire Station and said
"g'day".

When the lights went green, I took off, and I noticed she tucked in on my
wheel. So I had to make sure I kept my speed up - d'oh!! She followed me all
the way through to the lights at the MtG Red Rooster. She smiled and thanked
me for the draft, and I said, "that's cool - its a nice wide draft, so its a
shame for it to go to waste!". Nice to know that I'm quick enough for some
to ride on my wheel!!

Mt Gravatt hill climb #4 - the breakthrough!!

2005-07-21T09:58:00.000+10:00

This morning I once again slogged up the winding 2km road to the summit of
Mt Gravatt hill...

After a couple of improved commutes, and some technical advice on pedalling
style, I was very motivated to push myself hard and beat my previous best of
10min 36sec.

I rolled up to the base, clicked my bike computer clock to zero, and set
off. Previously, I've done a brief out-of-the-seat effort for the first and
last 200m of the climb, and spun up the rest in my granny 26-toother rear
cog. But this morning I decided it was time to up the ante and suffer a
little more for my goals...

I shifted the chain into the 21-tooth rear, stayed in the seat, and slogged
my way up... I concentrated hard on a smooth pedal stroke, especially the
back-up-forward parts. Tried to keep my body relaxed and still, and my eyes
focussed up the road. I got a bit sloppy halfway up, and shifted to the
23-tooth briefly - but then managed to regather myself a little and got back
into a groove in the 21.

When I hit the lookout platform at the top, I glanced down to see teh clock
tick past 9min 58sec!! I was totally pumped - I had 10 minutes set as an
important milestone and hadn't expected to crack that for another month. It
is a slow time relative to most cyclists, but for me it was another
important step in the right direction. I did a few laps of the summit to
enjoy the view and give the legs a brief respite, then headed back down.

It was a much slower descent than usual, as the roads were very wet after
some drenching rain last night. Met up with Tam at the bottom, who was
looking very sorry for herself. She'd had a very professional high-speed
slide across the bitumen at the start of her commute, and was quite
understandably feeling very sore!! She did seem more concerned about damage
to her favourite pair of knicks though....

Anyway, my climbing performance has me full of confidence, and I can't wait
to tackle the crits on Saturday to see if I can set a new record there as
well. Maybe I can hold onto the peloton for 4 laps this time!! I can't
believe how ridiculous that looks when I actually write it... :P

"Still Alive & Brilliant"

2005-07-21T09:45:00.000+10:00

On Tuesday night, Nicole and I headed to South Bank to see Deborah Conway
play in the Spiegeltent, as a part of the Qld Music Festival...

What is a Spiegeltent?? I hope I get this right... They are Belgian in
origin - basically a huge circular circus-like tent from the outside. On the
inside, the walls are all mirrored with a thin strip of stained glass
windows around the top. Booths around the outside, and lots of circular
tables in the centre. And of course a stage down one end...

This Spiegeltent was named "Victoria" (they all have names apparently), and
is the largest operating Spiegeltent in the world. This was the first time
in Australia for "Victoria" - which makes me wonder how small all the other
tents have been... "Victoria" is only around 30m in diameter. Makes for an
amazingly intimate concert venue!!

We had a bite to eat beforehand. The Belgian Beer Caffe were
(appropriately!) catering the venue. So we ordered some marinated & lightly
crumbed squid, Belgian-style meatballs, and frite (chips!). Wash it all down
with a Leffe Blonde or two (nice!), and then headed in for the show...

Deborah Conway was just amazingly good. I've really liked a couple of her
old standards, but have never really followed her music over time. She was
playing with her partner, Willie Zeigler (or is it Zeffer? I'm not sure...),
and their first set was the songs from her new album "Summer Town". I hadn't
heard any of these before, but they were fantastic. I think that her
powerful voice, the acoustic guitars, and the intimate atmosphere, all
combined to bring out the very best in both the musicians and the songs
themselves. Deborah did a bit of crowd banter between each song - some small
talk and a quick explanation of how the seed was planted for each song,
which was often quite funny...

They finished with two encores, made up of old favourites that the crowd all
wanted to hear. The highlights for me were "String of Pearls" and "Alive &
Brilliant" - two of my faves.

We were tossing up whether or not to buy a copy of the new album there. I'm
not sure - it was such an amazing night that I wonder if it would be better
to just remember it as it was. I don't think a CD could possibly come close,
and it would only shadow the memories of the amazing performance...

Pantani Paul

2005-07-19T12:08:00.000+10:00

Yesterday, I had an eventful commute home....

Arranged to meet Tam on the bikeway under the SE Freeway. She' d been
feeling pretty sick throughout the day, and so wanted to take it pretty easy
on the way home. Of course, her 'pretty easy' is still a decent workout for
me, so I was happy to take the drop in intensity!!

We had to stop a coupe of times, as she has a mystery sound coming from her
front wheel. General consensus seems to be its the hub playing up, but I
have no idea what I'm talking about when it comes to that...

Anyway - to the point. I had a very good hill-climb (or bump-climb, I don't
want to get too carried away!) up the hill towards the Holland Park shopping
strip. I started stomping on my pedals, but Tam yelled at me to concentrate
on the back-up-forward part of my pedal stroke. I started doing that, and
just letting the 'downstroke' look after itself. Tam told me to pull a bit
harder on the upstroke, and things seemed to click!! It was hard work, but
the climb felt very efficient as well. I kept my eyes focussed ahead, hands
on top of the bars, sat a bit more upright and kept my body still... I was
knackered at the top, but got up there faster than normal and used a few
rear cogs smaller than usual!! Normally I sit in my granny 26-toother on the
back - this time I think it might have been in the 19 or 20...

So climbing isn't an impossible task for me! I'm lucky that Tam commutes
with me occasionally, AND has such great technical knowledge about riding,
AND is willing to share it with a lumbering slow-coach like myself. Thanks
mate - I appreciate it. I don't know if I'll ever climb like Pantani
(hahaha), but with some effort I know it won't be a glaring deficiency
either...

Race report: Murrarie crits 16July2005

2005-07-18T09:55:00.000+10:00

Headed out to Murarrie again on Saturday to have a go at the Balmoral
Cycling Club criterium races.

It was a cool morning, only about 8 degrees, so I wore all my longs and rode
out of the driveway at 7am for the short (but hilly) 9km ride to the
circuit. I arrived at about 7:25, and watched the Elite and Cat 1 races for
a while. At the finish of the Cat 1 race, the winner (dressed in very snazzy
all-white kit) threw both hands up in the in celebration of his victory. I
heard one guy near me gasp and say, "He'll be disqualified for that - one
hand has to be on the bars at any time...". Sure enough, word came later
that he had been DQ'ed - tough, but the rules are there for everyone's
safety, so I guess that's fair enough.

I wandered over to the registration table to sign up, still in two minds
about which category to race. I was probably going to race Cat 3, but
decided I'd race 'up' in Cat 2 if there were only juniors in Cat 3. I handed
over my $6 and asked the ladies, "Are there only juniors in Cat 3 today, or
are some adults racing?". They said, "Well, you seemed to handle Cat 2
pretty well last time, so I think you can stay there." I pointed out to them
that while I finished, I was on my own, and was lapped at least half-a-dozen
times - but they just slipped the Cat 2 rego sheet over to me and said,
"sign next to number 18 please...". So looks like I am a Cat 2 racer now!!!

The Elite racers finished up just before 8am, and we all moved up for the
Cat 2/3 briefing. We got a talking to about swearing in the bunch.
Apparently, Cycling Australia & Cycling Qld are cracking down on this
because of complaints by members of the public and residents of homes
adjoining race courses everywhere. The club president said that last week 6
fines of $100 were handed out (OMG!!), and that they were very, very serious
about policing this policy. That was fine by me - I'm usually too out of
breath to utter any obscenities...

Race started right on 8am - 40min + 3 laps. I started mid-bunch, but eased
back in the first half-lap to the rear of the field. I didn't want to get in
anyone's way if I blew up at any stage! My record in Cat 2 has been just
under 2 laps from the start, so I was determined to do better this time...
I've got to say that my legs felt really, really good. The first two laps
rolled around, and I was holding my position pretty comfortably at the back
of the pack. I was working, but holding on OK without having to hammer.
Things were looking good!!

I rolled around through the third lap, and I was very pumped at breaking my
record! Of course, my improvement meant I had a whole new set of skills that
I had to utilise - I wasn't used to staying in contact with a bunch!! That
was my undoing in the end. I touched the brakes as I came around the final
corner onto the home straight at the end of the third lap. This corner
seemed to be where the whole "rubber-banding" peloton effect was at its
worst, and so my ill-timed braking put a gap between me and the 2nd-last
rider. I worked hard to get back on, but couldn't quite bridge the gap....

The rest of the race was mainly an ITT effort for me again. But I did have
some success at re-joining the passing peloton a couple of times - another
improvement for me!! I tacked on twice for 2 laps each time. And both times,
I was dropped more because of riding mistakes by me rather than not being up
to speed. Once because of a wide turn on that final corner again (I'll learn
sooner or later!), and the other when I was caught behind someone else who
dropped off, and I didn't realise they were 'dropping off' until it was too
late...

So I definitely consider Saturday's race as a great success for me. I'm
finally starting to show some slow progress in my cycling, which is very,
very motivating! I'm looking forward to the next couple of weeks, to see if
I can keep going further with peloton each time... Maybe soon I'll even feel
good enough to race at one of the other venues around Brisbane!!

Home bike maintenance 101

2005-07-14T11:21:00.000+10:00

Last night, in a fit of enthusiasm, I decided to clean the brake pads on my
bike. They have been squealing like a stuck pig, or maybe a skinned cat
depending on your preferred method of animal torture.

I, along with those I have ridden with or ridden past, must surely have been
sick to death of the high pitched squeals of my brakes over the last couple
of weeks. So I headed down to the shed (which is also our laundry) and got
on with the job.

It was a simple task really. I used my handy little allen keys to unscrew
the brake pads from the bike. Then used some coarse sandpaper to scrub the
bejesus out of them. They were initially pretty shiny & 'glazed', which I
understand is the reason for the squeal. But I roughed 'em up good!! Then it
was another simple (but fiddly) task to screw them back on and align them
properly with the wheel rim.

It worked very well. Absolutely no brake squeal this morning - the silence
was golden!!!!!

This is the second 'home bike maintenance' attempt for me in recent times,
the first being my wheel truing. Both have been fairly straight forward
tasks, but the satisfaction I have gotten from doing it all myself has been
huge!! I feel a bit silly, but this morning I couldn't help but have a
beaming smile of pride everytime I pulled on the brake levers and my bike
silently responded.

I'm slowly being converted to the joys of 'doing it myself' - now I just
need a degree of general competence to go with it!!

Mt Gravatt Hil Climb #3

2005-07-14T10:14:00.000+10:00

Another week, another hill climb up Mt Gravatt.....

I managed to take another chunk of time off my ascent - 10min 36sec today,
which I was very pleased with!! I'm eyeing off 10 minutes as my magical time
point that I'd like to reach in the short term - with some consistent
training, I'll hopefully reach that within a month. Funnily enough, I think
I have improved by exactly 24sec each time I've ridden Mt Gravatt - I'll be
stoked if I can keep that quantum of improvement up!!!

Did another half-dozen laps around the lookout when I reached the top. I
LOVE that view!! At first, I thought it was raining in the city - but closer
inspection revealed it was more low cloud/misty fog. Great visual effect
though from my elevated vantage point.

After MtG, I commuted in again down Logan Rd. Uneventful but pleasant. It
ALWAYS seems easy to commute in after doing MtG - I imagine its some
psychological perceived effort phenomena kicking in. Feels good though!

Tonight, I'll be doing an extended commute home. We are having dinner at the
in-laws (Nicole's parents) who live only a couple of hundred metres away
from my parents - how freaky is that!! So anyway, I'll be commuting straight
to their place at Eight Mile Plains, which will add some much needed
distance (plus a couple more hills!) to my ride. I'm looking forward to
riding up the Gaskell St (spelling?) hill from The Glen Hotel up to the
in-law's place. I'll feel like I'm finishing a Tour mountain stage when I
reach the top!! *yes, I am delusional...*

Hill-stompin'...

2005-07-08T14:33:00.000+10:00

I've been working hard on my commutes this week. Doing my best to improve
for racing at Murarrie each weekend....

I have been focussing on my hill ability (or disability....). So yesterday,
on the way home, I went a bit nutzo!

On the two bumps on the commute home, I stayed in the 4th/5th rear cog (I've
only got 8...), got out of the seat, and stomped my way up...

My coach would have been very proud!! She has promised unspeakable pain
should I downgear on the uphills anymore - and fear is obviously a good
thing for my training!!

Mt Gravatt Hill Climb #2

2005-07-05T11:29:00.000+10:00

I've been out of the blogosphere universe for a while - busy busy
busy.....!! But I'm back now...

This morning as part of my commute, I went for another ride up Mt Gravatt -
one of the two larger hill climbs in Brisbane. It was busier this morning -
I saw a group of 10 cyclists riding down together when I was about halfway
up... Another couple came down later on as well.

The climb was still tough on the legs. With about 600m to go, I upped the
gears a couple of cogs, got out of the seat, and upped my cadence a bit. I
was playing "Bird of Prey" by Fat Boy Slim through my head to try and keep a
rhythm - plus trying to remember Tam's climbing instructions (head up, move
back, bum above seat, don't bob up and down - see Tam, I DO listen!!). I
kept that up for about 400m, then dropped back onto the seat (and dropped a
gear) for the last 150m or so.

I pulled up to the lookout in 11min flat, an improvement of 24 seconds on
the last attempt. Cool!! I rode slowly around the roundabout at the top
half-a-dozen times or so, drinking in the view (seems so much better when
you've ridden up!) and sucking in some water as well. Then hooted back down
again. I'm still a bit heavy on the brakes for the descent, but I'm still
'learning the curves' and I'm sure that'll improve as well.

When I reached the bottom, I saw a group of about a dozen riders waiting
behind the Logan Rd shopping strip (I assume before riding up Mt Gravatt
together??). They were all wearing different kit, so I don't know if they
were a formal training group or just a training bunch of friends. They all
looked pretty fit though!!

Ride in was uneventful (Yay!). At the entrance to the bikepath just past
Stones Corner (the short, steep uphill bit that takes you next to the
freeway) Council workers were re-painting the yellow striped lines across
the path. That's great - so if it rains it should be even more slippery...

Rain, rain, and more rain...

2005-06-29T11:01:00.000+10:00

Well, it's raining in Brisbane at the moment...

The drought issues throughout Australia at present are pretty
well-publicised. Our dams, which are the source of all our drinking water,
are mostly at minimal capacity at present and so any rain we get is
gratefully and graciously received.

But it still sh!ts me that I can't ride my bike!!

Of course, there are upsides. My vegetable garden is going very well as a
result. I'm growing tomatoes, corn and lettuce, and around them a variety of
flat-leaf parsley, coriander, basil and rosemary. I have a border of bright
yellow marigolds around the outside, as a 'companion planting' thing - the
bugs that love tomatoes prefer marigolds, so I know I won't have to take any
'anti-nasty' action so long as the marigolds aren't attacked. I've also got
a lemon tree that is going crazy with lemons, and two humungous mango trees,
that produce delicious 'kensington pride' mangoes that are fantastic eating.

The home-grown stuff definitely tastes terrific, and there is a wonderful
sense of satisfaction in eating your own produce for dinner. With the herbs,
having them growing so well encourages you to experiment with them in heaps
of different dishes, and so you become much more confident when cooking as
well!!

Its patch is obviously also a great thing for the kids. They learn all about
where food comes from (it just doesn't magically appear in a box at
Coles/Woolies!!), and they have small sections that they are responsible
for, and can choose what to plant...

Great, looong morning commute

2005-06-23T10:22:00.000+10:00

Had another fantastic commute this morning!! I've decided to add one
'extended' commute per week to my riding, in an effort to increase my
fitness...

Woke up to a brisk, cool 7 degree morning. Brrrrrrrrrr!! I decided to
deflower my new leg-warmers (which I now LOVE), and looked for plenty of
layers to wear. Met up with Tam at 0640 outside the Mitre 10 on Logan Rd,
and we were off.

It started badly - guy in a Commodore (can you believe it...) sat about 2mm
behind my rear wheel at the first traffic lights, then sat on my butt up the
small rise and snuck past about 1mm past my handlebars. Then he had the
nerve to tut-tut me with his finger!!! I didn't need to do anything though -
Tam exploded and totally went off at the guy, so there was no doubt exactly
how we felt about it!

We came off the bikeway just before Woolloongabba, and followed a windy
out-of-the-way route around the back of the old Boggo Rd jail to the Dutton
Park ferry terminal (where the 'Green Bridge' is being built across to UQ),
then did a 'reverse river loop' through Yeronga, Tennyson, Graceville,
across the Indooroopilly cycle bridge, and onto St Lucia.

Tam took it upon herself to make me her b#tch again this morning - plenty of
technical instruction, and commentary on my effort!! I'm sure she is half
doing it out of frustration at my ineptitude on the bike, but I am
definitely appreciating it and am becoming a better hill-climber because of
it. There is definitely a repressed coach inside her just dying to get
out!!!

After some efforts around the UQ ring road (Tam's parting gift to me!), I
headed into the city and work via the Coronation Drive bikeway. Finished up
doing 37.5km at 23.5km/h - roughly the same speed as my normal commute, but
around three times as long, which is great!!

My wheel trueing experiment

2005-06-23T10:08:00.000+10:00

Went out to Rebel Sport yesterday and bought a BBB spoke key - my 'bike
repair/tuning tool'!!

For the non-cyclists - wheel truing basically means making sure your wheel
is straight and round. This is done by adjusting the tension in the spokes.
A spoke key is basically a little wrench that lets you tighten/loosen the
spokes (except its triangular, and doesn't look like a wrench...).

Anyway, last night I had my first go at doing some minor trueing adjustments
to my wheel. And what do you know, but it worked!! I'm feeling pretty pumped
at my effort - it is SO satisfying to be riding on wheels that I've trued
myself. Of course, if the wheel subsequently collapses, it won't be so good,
but that hasn't happened yet.....

Now, I just have to work out how to get the grease and tyre marks off the
kitchen floor before Nicole and the girls get back from Caloundra...

Mt Gravatt Hill Climb #1

2005-06-22T11:33:00.000+10:00

Yesterday morning, at the start of my commute to work, I rode up Mt Gravatt
to the lookout (I am not nuts, this was all Tam's idea...).

The ride up Mt Gravatt is 2km exactly, with an incline of roughly 7% (just
an estimate - people who have measured have been saying between 6% & 8%).
Its a great ride training-wise, and you are rewarded at the top with a
fantastic view of Brisbane - from the southern suburbs all the way to the
city and beyond... On this particular morning, I counted 8 other cyclists
also using the mountain (errr, hill...), so its obviously a popular spot for
cyclists.

Seeing as it was my first ride up there in years, I wasn't aiming for a
record - I just wanted to set a steady pace and keep the pedals turning
over, without letting myself have a 'rest' and ease off at any point. I
ended up at the lookout in 11min 24sec. This is a very slow time, but I've
got to start somewhere!!

The commute home was very good yesterday as well. The westerlies have
started blowing, which means Brisbane is starting into its wintery weather
period. But this also means a tailwind on the way home!! From Stones Corner,
Logan Rd heads home in roughly a South-Easterly direction, and so the winter
westerlies make the homeward journey a little bit easier. Of course this all
changes in Spring/Summer, where you get south-easterly headwinds all the way
home - but there has to be some incentive for riding in the cooler winter
months!!

Bloke Heaven

2005-06-20T16:58:00.000+10:00

Nicole and the girls (and my sister-in-law) are up at Caloundra for the week
(school holidays!). So that means I get to eat pizza, drink beer, belch,
f#rt, and scratch myself at will for a whole week. WooHoo!!

All the hot water is mine (oh yeah!!), and I don't have to rinse every piece
of crockery/cutlery as soon as I'm finished with it... I may be a bloated,
greasy, filthy mess by the end of the week, but it'll be worth it. Hope my
work colleagues don't notice the smell....

Race Report: Murarrie Crits

2005-06-20T15:55:00.000+10:00

After much badgering by Tam (see blindrapture.blogspot.com), the decision
was made to attempt my 2nd ever criterium event out at the Murarrie circuit,
run by Balmoral Cycling Club.

First, a brief history: back in February, I attempted my first ever
criterium race. I was in Category 3 (Cat 3), and managed to hold on to the
peleton for a whole half-lap!! I slunk away chastened, but determined to
return and put in a more competitive effort one day...

Well, after some more consistent training/commuting - the time had come to
have another crack. I met up with Tam at 06:45am on a VERY chilly Brisbane
morning. Single-figure temperatures had me numb in all my extremities, but I
knew that keeping up with Tam would get me warmed up quickly... We had a
slow & steady 9km ride up-and-down the rolling hills of Creek Rd to the race
venue.

Arrived a good half-hour before race start. Tam made me pay up straight away
so I wouldn't back out of the race *grrr* - then the 'negotiations' started
about which category I would be racing in. After much discussions with the
ladies at the registration desk, and the race commissaire, it came down to
this - ability-wise, I should be in Cat 3, BUT this category was mainly made
up of juniors; Cat 2 was the slowest 'adult' category, but it was probably
too fast for me.... What to do?? What to do??

I decided that if I was to be defeated, it should be by people of my own age
- so I nominated myslef in Cat 2. Tam was in Cat 2 as well (but she deserved
to be there, unlike myself!!). We watched the end of the Elite and Cat 1
races, and caught up with Adam (adam85) - who I know through the aus.bicycle
newsgroup. It was great to finally physically meet him, and he hung around
to cheer us on during the race...

07:45am rolled around, and it was time to start!! My entire strategy was to
start in the peleton, and see how long I could hold on for... I lasted for a
whole lap-and-a-half!! Whilst this is a crap result on its own - it
represented a pretty big improvement relative to a few months ago, so I was
very pleased!! Of course, I wasn't just going to stop then - so I decided to
make it an ITT training ride, plus try and tack onto the back of the peloton
whenever I got lapped... I was probably lapped roughly 6 times, and I was
generally able to hang on for about half-a-lap each time. I was just too
slow, but as I said, I was pleased at my apparent improvement since last
time.

I pulled off the circuit with about 5 minutes to go, so I could watch the
finish (plus stay out of the way in case I got caught up at the wrong
time!!). I averaged 29.6km/h for the race - which I was happy with. I think
Tam said she averaged ~37km/h for the race, so obviously I have some way to
go!!

After the race, I met some of Tam's cycling buddies, plus caught up with
Adam some more. Then rode home with Tam, Adam (another Adam, who finished
2nd in the race) and David (I think??). They were really nice guys. At the
start of the ride home, they took off, but Tam generously called them back
("hey, Paul's no hill climber..."), and they generously slowed down to 'Paul
speed'. It was still pretty cool (still only 17 degrees according to Adam's
Polar), but after the chilly start, it was relatively easy to take!!

It was a very fun morning!! Even though I was totally out-classed, I really
enjoyed pushing myself throughout the race. I'm joining up with the Balmoral
club come the 1st July, so I'll be a regular at their weekend crits. Next
time, the aim will be to last a whole 2 laps... :)

Stones Corner ITT #2

2005-06-16T09:06:00.000+10:00

Fast commute in this morning.

Started off with being stood up by Tam!! I turned on my mobile at 6:40am
just before riding off from home, and 3 messages were waiting for me... I
don't blame her for sleeping in - the cooler mornings are perfect for it. So
I mucked about in the backyard for 10 minutes doing some cleaning up I meant
to do yesterday, then took off.

I decided to 'go for it' again this morning (seeing as I was missing out on
my 'Tam commute workout'!!) and see how quickly I could get to Stones
Corner. Traffic was pretty light - but that didn't stop a few idiots from
sliding past me in their Commodores. I tapped one on the passenger side
window as he went past, but I don't think he noticed...

Not too many cyclists out either. I saw a guy on an mtb wearing just t-shirt
and shorts (again!) - but he was looking a bit colder this time! Another
very fit guy on a roadie, and fully-clad in arm-warmers and longs sat on my
wheel for a while, but he left me in his dust when he took off at Stones
Corner.

As I rolled through SC, my computer showed an average speed of 29km/h - a
new record!! I think I was only a couple of seconds quicker between lights,
but that was enough for me to beat almost all the traffic lights on my
commute. In fact, I only had to stop for ONE red light (luxury!!) - at the
top of the hill just before Holland Park (Marshall Road?). So the lack of
stops on the commute is probably the reason for the improvement...

I love riding in the cool mornings - its just fantastic!!!

Go West!!

2005-06-15T12:04:00.000+10:00

We all headed out West to St George for the long weekend - a small town in
South-West Qld. The main motivation for the trip was to visit Nicole's
grandmother, who is living in an aged-care home out there.

It was a great trip!! We headed off at 6:30am Sat morning and made a dash
for Warwick, stopping at the Caltex truckstop for some breakfast. We met up
there with Nicole's parents & sister. I decided to get in the spirit of the
trip by having a greasy 'long haul burger' for breakfast - a maelstrom of
beef, egg, bacon, pineapple, cheese and green leafy bits. I think its still
slowly digesting through my system...

Next stop was Inglewood for a 'driver reviver' break. The kids ran around
like lunatics in the park, and Nicole & I went for a 10 minute walk along
their 'olive trail' to stretch the legs...

Lunch break was in Goondiwindi. My father-in-law went crazy the previous
night making sandwiches, so we sat in the 'Gunsynd Memorial Park' alongside
the Macintyre River munching them down. They had a swing set that swung out
towards the river, so the girls had a great time with the weird sensation on
that. Apparently the Macintyre River forms part of the border with NSW...

We were going to stop next at Tallwood to give the kids a break, but Emma
had drifted off to sleep, so instead we stopped at Weengallon next to the
Aboriginal Rockpools. These are small wells that were 'hand-hewn' by the
locals centuries ago as a source of water. The girls spent most of the time
collecting cotton that had blown off trucks from the side of the highway -
they ended up with quite a collection by the end of the trip!

At 3:30pm, we finally made it into St George!! We checked into the 'Merino
Motor Inn', and headed over to the Warrawee Home to see Nicole's gran.
Warrawee has a great setting - when you walk out of Gran's unit, you head
straight into a native garden, then beyond that is a small orchard growing
oranges & mandarins, and one of the vineyards that supplies grapes to the
local winery. How's that for serenity!!

St George itself was, well, very country. Pretty much everything was shut
(bar the newsagent & the pubs) as it was a long weekend. And there were 3
weddings on that weekend, so almost everyone in the town was at one of the
weddings!! We tried to see as much of the town as we could - we spent some
time at Beardmore Dam, had an afternoon of wine tasting at Riversands
Winery, and the kids ran around in the park along the Balonne River. We
stopped to look at any animals we came across (for the kids!!) - we saw
kangaroos (of course!) and emus, plus farms full of sheep, cows & horses. I
think our interest in the 'roos gave us away as non-locals!!

There was nowhere open to eat breakfast - so it was rice bubbles and toast
in the motel each day. Lunch was sandwiches (how organised - can you tell we
have kids!). For dinner, we headed off to the local RSL for some yummy
steaks. I ordered a rump steak - but it turned out they had run out, so the
waitress brought out TWO rib fillets instead!! I think I've got my iron
requirements set for the next month or two... We also ate at the "Asian
Pearl Chinese" restaurant. It was actually pretty good for Chinese food -
basic but made very well.

The long drive home was uneventful. Except for when I nearly bogged the
car!! We stopped by the side of the Highway to watch some emus (again!) run
past. It had actually rained while we were out there, and I just didn't
think about the effect that would have on the red dirt shoulder of the
road... A few hairy moments, but I eventually managed to drive the car out
after slewing back and forth amidst the muddy red stuff!! We stopped off
briefly at Goondiwindi & Warwick, and got home at about 7pm Monday night.

It was terrific - we all enjoyed ourselves. Next time we'll make it a longer
stay (to make the looong drive worthwhile!). We might also incorporate a
longer route adding in Stanthorpe and some other spots along the way...

Sudoku psychosis

2005-06-10T10:20:00.000+10:00

I have become addicted to Sudoku puzzles...

It all started after I became sick of doing the crosswords in the Courier
Mail. I've always been pretty good at crosswords, and I'd been finishing the
Courier Mail one pretty regularly. Except of course for the occasional
obscure clue - they really sh!t me, but at least now I can tell you the
difference between an antelope, springbok, ibex and elan....

Anyway, they started printing these Sudoku number puzzles. I've always
fancied myself as a number expert. I have a maths degree, and numbers are my
thing!! But these Sudoku puzzles are killing me - I can knock over the
easier ones very quickly, but the tougher ones are messing with my head. I
know when I am beaten, but I can't let go!!

One day, after being missing from home & work for over 6 months, I'm sure
they will find me under a bridge somewhere with a long beard, straggly hair,
scrappy clothing and bad body odour - swearing at a Sudoku that is taunting
me with its unattainable solution...

My clothing review...

2005-06-10T09:36:00.000+10:00

This morning, I had a couple of clothing changes to my usual commute
'uniform'.

Dragged out my 10-year-old MG-Technogym jersey - its lined with a
cotton-like cloth (not sure exactly what it is). It definitely felt nice
against the skin on a cool Brisbane morning, a bit like the change from
normal sheets to flanno sheets in bed when winter starts to bite!!

Last night, I ducked out to Target and bought a 'crewneck singlet tank'.
Interesting description - but its actually just like a sleeveless muscle-top
style singlet. Its got a high neck line (same as a t-shirt), wider shoulder
bands, and the 'arm holes' are small as well. Just like a t-shirt with the
sleeves cut off, I guess... Anyway, it was much better than my normal Bonds
singlet warmth- & wind-wise.

Early morning commute weather is getting cooler and cooler - so I'll have to
by some leg protection soon. I'm still tossing up between a pair of cycling
legwarmers, or 'running tights' worn over my cycling knicks. I've canvassed
a few opinions, and it seems very much a personal comfort issue - people
swear by one or the other!! Will have to just bite the bullet and by
something soon, though...

Giro di Brisbane??

2005-06-09T12:54:00.000+10:00

I was just reading the Courier Mail (Brisbane's daily newspaper), and
checking out the details of the City Council budget - being a responsible
home-owner and all!!

One thing caught my eye - apparently, "cycling enthusiasts have been catered
for in the Budget with funding for Brisbane's first Giro di Brisbane, a
100km cycling race."

What the ...??? A bit stunned - since when do cyclists get a look in at
budget time?? And I am VERY intrigued to find out the details... Better get
training!!

Stones Corner ITT #1

2005-06-07T11:18:00.000+10:00

I had a great commute this morning. Decided to put the head down and not be
such a slacker - so made a genuine effort at a quick ride in... Once I hit
Stones Corner, its all bikepaths - so my "ITT course" is from home (Mt
Gravatt East) to the cafe strip at Stones Corner.

As I cruised through Stones Corner, my computer showed an average speed of
27.7km/h. I was very happy with that - plus I'm close enough to 30km/h to
use it as a medium-term goal to aim for!! I took it easy the rest of the way
on the bikepaths - they were a bit wet, although I'm sure it didn't rain
last night... So I finished the whole journey with an average speed of
24.3km/h.

Saw a few other cyclists on the road today. An old guy on a triathlon bike
that absolutely smoked me at both traffic lights we were at together - he
was seriously quick!! I said hello at both stops, but he seemed to have his
serious race face on.... :S A couple of others were much more friendly,
so that made up for it!! No psychotic Prado drivers this morning - and I was
pleasantly surprised when a huge Energex truck actually slowed down to allow
me a gap in front of it, so I could overtake a stopped bus - can you believe
it!!

Weather is getting cooler, but still very pleasant for cycling - might have
to venture out to the local bike shop (LBS) and start checking out knee
warmers/wind vests today in anticipation...