Week 1; Busselton Prep

Now I know what you are all thinking, bit far out from Busselton (Dec 5th) to be doing a dedicated prep. I say no way, we will just build and build over the weeks leading up to it and hopefully magical things can happen!

As you well know I haven’t been able to do much training over the past weeks, very disappointed, but taking the time to fix my injuries is far more important in the long run.

This week was tough, and I didn’t even complete half of my full schedule!

Monday - I went for a 3km run followed by physio. We did a lot of triggering dry needling etc. Got the ok to run 3 times a week, up to 3km to test things out. May still experience pain in the knee from time to time.
Tuesday - 36km ride, meant to be 48km but just run off the road by a raging ignorant asshole who thought I was trespassing for some reason on his turf?! He was just pissed that his 20 year old car could accelerate faster than me on my bike, so when he finally caught up to me he ran me off the road. Eitherway I was wrecked, 32kph average. Followed by a swim and gym/stability exercises.
Wednesday - 52km ride fairly easy but hurt my legs, straight off the bike 2km run at 4.10km pace. Stiff by the end, happy I could hold that pace, now just have to work on endurance to do it for 42.2km.
Thursday - 40km ride, 3km swim, gym/stability. Fairly easy day, legs stiff from wed.
Friday - 65km ride, hurt a lot was good being on the bike for that long again but had got dry needling done just prior to it. 3km swim in afternoon/gym stability. Got my new seat post, in optimal position now on my bike. Feels great.
Sat - was suppose to do a mini tri in training. Cancelled all of that. Week took its toll short ride, followed by 3km run at 4.50pace. Legs so stiff no knee soreness!

All in all I'm happy with the week. Obviously would have liked to do a lot more Kms but I did what my body was able to do. 205km riding, 8km run, whatever in the pool. Hopefully looking to push it to 330km riding this week, 10km run and whatever I get done in the pool! Got some good weeks ahead, 2 weeks time hopefully into full prep minus running, still will be building back into that with physio instructions. May take some time.

Read more...

Busselton Ironman

With a mix of excitement and trepidation the above image confirms my registration for my next big event. The Busselton Ironman. Its done, I'm in nothing to worry about now but training! Wooo

Read more...

Ironman Marathons

I recently read and article by Matt Fitzgerald called "How to Nail the Ironman Marathon" you can read it here, that provided some really good insights into running the best you can at the end of a 180km ride.

Coming from an endurance background of elite competitive open water swimming, the ideas are not that far removed from what I have already done through my career, but its very interesting to see the cross over.

Matt suggests the following tips;

Get as strong as you can on the bike
Run long, but don’t run a lot
Do frequent transition runs
Don’t waste your energy on speed work
Do a metric Ironman
Don’t banquet on the bike

Strength on the bike is the most important part of running a good marathon in the Ironman. Funny that?! Pretty much it’s about making the ride fast, but as easy on your legs as possible, so it would seem logical to do this you must ride and ride and ride! I guess the aim is to ride a great 180km and get off like you haven’t done anything - fresh legs. I found it very interesting that this point has been made perfectly in 2002 by an experimental coach,

"A couple of elite Kenyan runners did the race. I’m talking about sub-2:15 marathoners. The story was that some coach had recruited these guys as a sort of experiment. Anyway, not only did the poor guinea pigs get crushed on the swim and the bike, but they also ran terribly. This unique example demonstrates that the first key to running strong in an Ironman is not pure running ability but strength on the bike."

I don’t really want to touch on it all, I would just be rehashing his words. A few things though, from my limited experience I would disagree with slightly. Run long, but not run often. I agree with running long, but I think it is important to run everyday, even if it is just a little 5km run. Now of course it depends on where you are as an athlete and if your body can take it. I guess his reasoning is the bodies’ ability to recover and deal with the breakdown. Sure if you can only run 3times a week, do so. But if you body can deal with the workload (adequately, not for a month then breakdown) then more running would make sense. Read Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner . Now I'm not saying that’s what we should all do. But if we worked on his bike, can you imagine what he would run?! Sub 3 marathons are nothing to him day in and day out. He shows your body can deal with it, if you build into it.

Speed work is pointless - completely agree. In my training for 25km open water swims I use to come in and Dean would say go 5km, 3km, 2km straight. Not time cycle I just feel it out, listen to my body and go as fast as I was able to. That’s what a long race is about; going the fastest you can for the longest time possible, not short sharp abilities to sprint.

The only other point I would like to mention is his of not banqueting on the bike. Yes don’t banquet, but you really have to be mindful of your body and what it needs. Those figures he quoted for me are too low; I know that from 25km races. Practise in training on long rides, learn what your body needs rather than going off a formula!

Just some light reading, a good little article with tips on putting together the best IM of you life!

Read more...

ITB tightness; How to avoid ITB friction Syndrome

So as I discussed in my other blog I have ITB FS. I touched briefly on the causes, but wanted to go into my detail about how to avoid these arising.

Poor biomechanics (running technique)
You really need to get someone to look at your running. Not everyone has a perfect technique, its possible I may turn my left leg out a little due to tightness in my hip which places pressure on my ITB making tight. Really you should be able to keep biomechanical stuff under control if you look after you muscles, loosen them etc. But if you have concerns about your style, talk to your physio and try and get someone to look at it. You may even just need a pair or orthotics, so if you plan on running a lot see a podiatrist.


Poor biomechanics (riding technique)
Same thing as I spoke about above, you could have poor form in your riding. I lift my right hip up to compensate for my tightness. This in turn pushes my knee closer to the top tube creating stress on my ITB. A lot of this is my muscle tightness, however some of it is my bike set up. So make sure you have it professionally set up. People in Brisbane Leon Vogels is amazing however hard to get into. Brian McLean is also great. I will see him shortly for my work. Both can be contacted at QSMC

Weak gluteal muscles, Weak inner quadriceps
Strength work is highly important. At the moment I do a lot of single leg squats focusing on engaging the hip and gluts solely. Maintain a good symmetry of both hips keeping the level. Lunges, squats, stretch cord work is really important and good for strengthening the hip. Make sure when doing these also you keep the knee in line with your first or second toe, you don’t want it coming inside the line and stressing your knee and ITB.

Worn out or unsuitable joggers
As I said before. First see a paediatrist. All feet are different yours could roll in, you need more ankle support. More cushion on the back heel. Or maybe you run on your toes. All shoes are made for different reasons; you need to get the right ones. Also replace your shoes regularly. When I was told this I didn’t really believe it. But every 3-4months or 1000kms on my feet I change them. I recently just tried out my old pair and wo it makes a different, the cushioning determinates a lot. I heard marathon runners replace them fortnightly. So keep track of your miles and replace them as need be. Bad shoes can cause major problems with your knees and sideline you for months if not for good.

Thigh muscle fatigue, Change of running time, distance and/or terrain
Just rest up guys. Know your limits and don’t be afraid to keep it tame for a while. My first run - 22kms in a 10 year old pair of shoes. Yea I learnt the hard way all he above. Don’t do it. Start out with short distances 5kms and build it up. Listen to your body and know your limits. Downhill really stresses the shins. Forest running can be hard on the ankles. Know your weaknesses in form and your ability as an athlete and don’t over do it better to do 5km a day for 5 days, than a 10km run and be out for the rest of the week. Keep it in moderation, and slowly build as you become a better runner and athlete.

So hopefully it all makes sense and helps you where I had failed. Learn from my mistakes. If you want to compete well and race hard, don’t take an amateurs approach to a professional sport. Get your bike set up, the right shoes, riding technique etc. Set yourself up for success and the sky’s the limit.

Read more...

ITB Friction Syndrome

Well don’t I just have a lot to talk about today. Finally got to put a name to what is causing all my running problems. Iliotibial band (ITB) friction syndrome is actually one of the most common running complaints. They call runners knee.

For those of you who dont know, the ITB runs down the length of the lateral thigh and lateral knee. Basically a strong band that runs on the outside of the thigh and knee.




As you can see it just takes up quite a lot of the lateral side of the quad and exends up to the hip. No wonder I have been having a lot of pain in my hip etc. This thing is insanely tight.

Basically the short of it is, it is an overuse injury. Your weekend runner doesn’t really experience this as they have long periods of rest and are not stressing the ITB day in and day out. What happens with ITB FS is the ITB can shorten and tighten due to overuse. This causes it to rub against the femoral epicondyle which is on the lateral side of the knee almost dead center.

As you bend your knee with running the ITB flicks over the femoral epicondyle and in time can either become damaged or inflamed. Hence you have what is called ITB FS.

So great I have something treatable. However for 6month we have been doing all the work, which I will discuss later, so that basically I have come to the point I am at know. Before I disucss that lets talk about what causes it. I think this is really important as a lot of beginning triathletes will not do these little things. So I wil merely list them, then we can talk about it in another blog.

- Poor biomechanics (running technique)
- Poor biomechanics (riding technique)
- Weak gluteal muscles
- Weak inner quadriceps
- Worn out or unsuitable joggers
- Thigh muscle fatigue
- Change of running time, distance and/or terrain

So to fix it or stop it occurring you have to keep the ITB loose. Stretch it, learn your ITB stretches. A good one is below.



But also stretch gluts, hamstrings. Trigger point and foam roll. If you don’t know what they are ask a physio, or Google it. Basically you lie on a tennis ball/foam roller and bring it up and down along the ITB and hamstring etc finding tight spots and freeing them out. This stuff really helps with keeping it loose.

However when you get to my stage, it just doesn’t work, plus with all the underlying factors causing the tightness it cannot be fixed without them being resolved.

Today I had a cortisone injection to the ITB just before it crossed the knee, followed by a series of around 10 injections with a Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (not sure of the name started with T) mixed with an anaesthetic. Relaxes the muscles, reduces the tightness and gets rid of the inflammation. The needles don’t really hurt, similar to dry needling if you have had it before. Expect pain the night time after you have it done. Just an all over ache of the muscle!

I know a lot of people talk about cortisone injections being bad and leading to all these bad scenarios. Yes of course it can happen, but not if you approach it the right way. I have seen my physio Ed Fitzgerald at Qld Sports Medicine Centre for years now. He is great discusses all the issues with it. He stressed that this is NOT the cure. It is to help me be able to do the things I need to get back on track. The physio work, stretching, fixing my bike – the real causes I am getting tight is the only way I can fix it. The shots just get me in a better position to do it.

Great we have an action plan and I know what’s wrong. Now my next blog I will talk about the causes, why I am getting tight and how to avoid it!

Read more...

Speedsuits Vs Wetsuits; the difference, whats best for you?

Coming from a swimming background I have extensive experience with speedsuits. Recently FINA changed the swimming rules to band all suits for men that extend past the knee and above the waist due to their performance enhancing capabilities. Then there are wetsuits which anyone who has even donned these amazing floatation devices will attest to their powers to make even the worst swimmer passable. But what is best for you?
Read More...

Read more...