Oliver WCOC Sprint/Olympic

[SimonC]

Just a quick note to let all know that BPR kicked ass in Oliver this AM  .
We managed three podiums and tons of exposure  . I won't spoil any surprises from subsequent reports but the blue and white was a presence in both races .

And as a bonus ... I didn't drown  ... I'll post a more detailed report from myself later ...

Congrats ....

SC 

[Andrew]

Woooohooooo!!!

The suspense is killing me Simon!

I'm glad you survived the sprint to show them how it's done on a bike...hope you saved some for the run.

Gin

[MartinC]

Well, I guess it is time to put Andrew out of his suspense.........so here we go!
I drove down on the morning prior to the race, with my Dad, for a relatively civilised start at 8.30am. My Dad was racing the sprint (66-70AG) Which he ended up winning....I will have to give him a BPR top!
Plenty of time in transition for set up and then a quick swim warm up. Lake was considerably warmer than last week, really quite comfortable. After some consultations with Andy and Chris during the week I had a race plan I was really happy with and looking forward to executing and seeing the results.
1500 swim on a double out and back, so 4 separate legs in my head. It was a bit of a shock start, no one had positioned themselves as the RD called us in for an intro then said 5 seconds to start..........go! The plan was to swim controlled and focus on form, well the first 200 was a real rough and tumble affair, I drank far more of the lake than I ever had before, got a couple of light kicks in the head and this irritating tall kiwi guy kept tapping my feet. Found a reasonable draft and tried to settle in and recover from the start. At the first turn I surged a bit as the guy I was drafting seemed a bit erractic in his sighting. Second leg was on my own and I started to feel pretty good. Out of the water for the second out and back and I found another draft, it seemed pretty cruisy to the final turn and I felt strong so surged again focused on my catch and turnover and pushed it in to the finish.
The timing mat for the swim was down the beach a bit and due to some inexperienced wetsuit strippers I got held up there adding some time to my swim. (The bike time includes most of the transition from swim to bike and from bike to run giving a pretty inaccurate bike time).
In transition onto the bike, I discovered that Jen Schultz and I do not share the same head cicumference, I had lent her my TT helmet last week and forgotten to check the fit before the race! So I lost a bit of time playing with that before getting it on and heading out.
I started my timing after getting my shoes done up and the HR File is attached. The race plan was to take it easy apart from the first hill and ride at BP -5 (HR160). As you can see from the file, my AvHR was 156 and max was 169 at the planned hill. About 10K into ride the eventual winner of the event came by and I thought I would follow him, see if the pace was too hot, and drop off if necessary. Well, I ended up following him for the next 30K riding what felt very comfortable for most of the time. we caught two other guys who jumped on our train and I have to say this was the cleanest riding group I have seen at a triathlon, everyone rode legally which was really nice. 
So mission accomplished so far, swim mostly to plan, bike, if anything a little easier than planned. Next stage run. Again a double out and back and the plan was to start under LBP and build in 2.5K blocks. The pace felt tough initially but I kept focus on my breathing and cadence and you can see from the file my HR slowly build up over the distance. Av Cadence was 92 where my goal was to be about 90. The last K felt really hard and I think I mentally eased up and let a guy pass me, with 400M to go he was not pulling away and I started to close the gap without really intending to. I did not commit to trying to pass though and probably should have tried to sprint past, in the end he beat me by 2 seconds.
So, the results, nineth overall (2.08.44), second fastest bike on the day, the first time I have averaged over 40kph for a Olympic distance tri, although in this case the bike course was about 1.5K long. (This is from my computer, not the results which include transitions). 17 seconds slower than my fastest ever 10K run on a much easier, dead flat course. Even better was having a plan and being able to follow it leading to what would have been a PB for me at this distance had the course been regulation distances.!
Thanks to Chris and Andrew for all the advice so far and to the rest of the team for being such a great supportive and motivational group. Well done to Simon after his first ever tri and getting up onto the podium, Chris W for beating his last years time despite limited training time and Jeff for a great top three in the sprint.

[Andrew]

For those who had enough curiosity to look through Martin's files, you can make your own decisions about where he can improve. I have told him my impression, and thought I would make it public, so anyone interested can debate the merits...

First, nobody can argue with the impressive results. 2:08 on a hilly course, with a long bike portion is very good. So, let us start by giving credit where credit is due. Now, we must remember my preferred role is to look for a weakness, and suggest a means of overcoming it. Since we met Martin, the singular goal has been to improve the run. He is a talented swimmer, a world class cyclist, with a mediocre run split.

I have not seen the swim times, but would suggest the "surge" towards the end of the second lap did very little towards improving his overall time, and may have in fact cost him in the end. If the goal is to develop run speed to match his swim and bike proficiency, then each race must start with this end goal in mind. So, in my mind, EVERY part of this race should have been developed to maximize his run time. And perhaps 40:07 is the best run time he can do presently, but I think he is already capable of more.

So, I would not have suggested the high effort up the first hill, and the "chase" of the fastest rider of the day. Even though Martin suggests this was below his target race intensity.

The next event Martin chooses, may be Oliver Half. If there is another chance before Oliver to try the ideas, my suggestion would be even more control on the bike, with the plan of holding the 92 RPM run cadence (which he showed he was able to control for the full 10km). But this time, start with 92 RPM short strides, and each 2.5km section lengthen the stride while maintaining the same cadence. This way we see whether the trouble with producing the speed is due to a lack of coordination, strength, or flexibility. But we will never know if he works hard enough on the bike that he is forced to slow on the run due to "fatigue".

Once again, a FANTASTIC result. And once again, we can always find a weakness. Even in a elite athlete with an open mind. Good job Martin. I can't wait to see you race in Oliver. Glad I don;t have to go head to head with you there!

[kiwichris]

Would like to congratulate Martin on an awesome race - we had deliberated over the 'plan' a week ago and I am pleased that he was able to pull it off - and gain such an awesome result as the reward. We sat down today to debrief and I am impressed at the insight he is able to put towards reviewing the race and goals to work towards in the near future. With some testing in the near future we should be able to pinpoint some areas to focus on leading in to Oliver and beyond.

I will post my little report soon - bed time now.

Chris

[MartinC]

A couple of other factors to throw into the debate:
1. It has been maybe 10 weeks since my inefficient running form was identified and the tools to help fix it brought into my training. Not a lot of time to break the habits of a lifetime and instal an new pattern.
2. As my focus has been on technique and building structure (and minimise injury) my run mileage is miniscule especially in comparison to those who are running faster than me. (I would be lucky to log 25-35K a week, and I think it would be hard to argue that someone who runs 70K a week isn't going to be faster.)
3. I have done no speed/track work aside from one hill work/downhill running session.
4. When I analyse my ride data my AVHR for the "Chase" is 155. 10 beats below my BP and 5 beats below the planned intensity we had for the whole bike section.

I think that slowly building my efficiency through a gradual increase in mileage  with a continued concentration on form and the introduction of regular hill/speed/track work from its current minimal level may produce some of the desired results.

Perhaps going out and running some TT at different distances on the track would help identify where the limiters are?

[SimonC]

OK .... Here goes ... My VERY LENGTHY race report from the Oliver WCOC Sprint.
This being my first ever Tri ... I was really not sure how things were going to go The previous Sunday (at the BPR Oliver Training Camp), I did my first ever Wetsuit swim ... and it didn’t go so good.  That left me a little perplexed !!! I did 2 more lake swims before the Sun sprint, but my confidence was pretty low even tho it was only 750m’s !!! The swim was definitely a wildcard for this race.
The goal for this sprint was strictly experience ...
Experience in a group swim ... Experience in transitions ... Experience in tri pacing
I wanted to see how my body would react to the three sports back/back/back ... another unknown under race conditions !!!
So let’s get to the good stuff ...
Swim
I had a good warm up (thanks to Becky Alexander, Scott MacMillan and Janelle Morrison for calming me down right before the start). The water was 17 Deg C so it was warm for May standards. I seeded myself around mid pack and to the side. I wanted to be in the mix, but not all the way. I concur with Martin C that no one was really ready for the start of the race and it was chaos. My goal was to have a relaxed swim and keep things under control the whole time.  I got beat up pretty good at the start and I’m pretty sure I beat up a couple of old lady’s pretty good as well  . I managed to get into a good rhythm really early and there were only a few times where I was under stress. Sighting worked well as those red buoys and the sea of people made things easy. I would often find my stroke disintegrating and would have to relax and concentrate on form.  As I said, I tried to keep things under control and was hoping to achieve a time of around 15 mins.  As I passed the half way point I felt relaxed and it was hard to hold back, but I consciously throttled back to keep things fresh. When all was said and done, I finished the swim portion in 16:39 (2:14/100m – 57th out of the water). I consider this pretty slow as I’ve swam faster in training, but I held back on purpose so I could be fresh for the bike/run.
Swim /Bike Transition
Coming out of the water was awesome ... cuz the swim was over  . I decided not to use the wetsuit strippers because I wanted to practice taking off the wetsuit myself under race pressure. I ran to my bike and stripped off and actually had a quick transition. Although my bike was right near the gate so I didn’t have to run too far in my cycling shoes (haven’t figured out the shoes on the bike thing yet ... and don’t even talk to me about the rubber band thing on the shoes that J Morrison was trying to explain to me )
Bike Leg
Once I got on the bike I was in familiar territory  . I slapped it into my 56-11 ... that’s right (56  ) and let it rip. I must say, that I did hold things back a bit on the bike cuz I wanted to have a good run. I immediately started passing people and it never really stopped. I started the bike in 57th place and by the end I was in about 14 th position ... all in 20 K !!! I wish I had another 160 K to reel in the rest of the guys ... soon enough  I could have gone WAY faster but I held back. I kept things at about 155 BPM which is sub LB. My computer read 41 avg and I usually do over 45km/hr on a course like that so a very controlled pace. One thing of note ... I did have a little bit of indigestion in the first 5 K , but I sorted that out early and all was good. Mabey a little too hard on the hill When all said and done the result time was 30:56 (38.8km/hr). This was confusing to me ... but it all became clear later.
Bike/Run Transition.
I cycled into the transition area at about 50km/hr and that freaked the official out. I was under total control but I guess they didn’t know that. I almost got a penalty for taking my helmet off early, but I was warned so no penalty. Mental note for next race !!! The run transition was a little slow. I messed around a little ... I was going to put socks on but my feet were wet so I changed my mind. I was having some blister issues but in the heat of battle I said pound sand to the socks. I hit the road and felt good that I did all the passing on the bike and nobody passed me !!! I learned afterwards that the bike time included the swim and run transitions ... so that explains the sub 40km/hr avg ... Phewww !!!
Run Leg
This leg was a little unknown for me. I wasn’t sure how fast I could run after a swim/bike. So the plan was to control the pace. I kept the first half of the run at 9.0 mph. During the first 2.5 K’s I passed a few more people, and I could see the leaders at the turn around. So close but yet so far !!! At 2.5 K’s I tried to ramp things up and cruised to the finish at about 9.5-10.0 mph. My HR ranged from 155-160 BPM’s ... still under LBP. Passed a couple more guys in the last 1 K. BTW ... probably should have worn sock cuz I got blood all over my New Balance 100's ... which are awesome shoes !!! It did look totally core coming across the line covered in blood 
I crossed the line in 1:08:27 ... 12th overall and 2nd in my Age group.
Out of interest  ... I was 57th in the swim ... 7th on the bike ... 16th on the run
In retrospect, I had a great first experience in my first tri race. It was a controlled evenflow effort and netted me a top 15 overall even with a very slow swim. Obviously I need to learn to swim faster, and I think I can ramp my bike and run speeds up ... but it has to be in a controlled manner.
I’m doing the Oliver half in a few weeks and that should allow me to chase down a few more of you speedy guys so beware. Pacing will be even more critical in this race as well as nutrition.
It was really good to see Geoff Waterman ripping it up in sub 1 hr ... Way go dude ... It was great to race with Chris and Martin as well. And congrats to Martin’s dad for ripping it up too. I’m pretty pumped about the upcoming season and see where it takes me !!!
Thanks for reading !!!
Simon

[gwaterman]

Hey Everyone, I'm stoked about how my race went and with the result.  In addition, it was great to see where I can improve, and how BPR was represented!!
Here it goes.  (I wrote this right after the race and proceeded to lose it, so here is a new version)
Pre-race:  I drove down with plenty of time to spare, I went for an easy 10 min spin with 2 x 30 seconds efforts at my race watts - 270, after setting up my bike, I went for a 10 min run with Chris and one of his athletes, I just focused on my cadence and breathing and feeling relaxed. I did 2 x 20 seconds excels to turn the feet over and went and put my shoes in transition.  With about 30 minutes before the start I went in for a swim warm up.  I find I need a longer warm up for swimming.  I did about 8 minutes of easy swimming and a few fist drills, then 2x(10 strokes hard, 30 easy, 20 hard/20 easy, 30 hard/20 easy, 40 hard 20 easy) I was ready, probably about 5 minutees early as we had to stand in the cold before the start. 
Swim: I positioned myself in the front to the right. I had a good start and was in second position looking for a draft.  My shoulders and biceps were tight from the cold and an old wetsuit (I'm buying Joel's in a week or so.) So I settled in to a nice smooth stroke and controlled breathing. I lost contact with teh leader but I couldn’t go any faster so I waited til the bike.
T1: I came out very fast and whipped off the top of my wetsuit, and ran to my bike, I made up one position in T1 and came out in 2nd.
Bike: I got upto speed and put my feet in to my shoes, and tried to catch the guy ahead of me.  I caught him and got passed myself.  I didn’t panic, I managed to average 252 watts for the ride.  My time was 30:21, on my bike it said 28:35.  I think the bike included transitions.  I felt really comfortable on the bike, and controlled my breathing rate. (I forgot to count) I felt like I was under my balance point (my HRM was acting up) I defiantly felt like I could have gone harder, which is nice. 
T2: I came in and popped my shoes on fast and was off, the guys that eventually came in second and 5th came in and went out really hard.  I let them go to stick to my plan.  Which was keep a fast cadence, controlled breathing and a relaxed upper body. 
Run: I went up the first hill strong and built into the first km, I was feeling great and went to try to catch the guys in front of me.  I kept my cadence over 90rpm and my breathing deep.  I caught one guy and was catching the guy in 2nd place but ran out of room.  I think this may have been my best triathlon run in the last 5 years. Which I was super pumped about.
Overall I came in 3rd and went 59:58.  Swim 10:48, bike: 30:21 and run 18:50.  I was really happy with going under an hour and how I felt on the run.  Plus I was 1:17 faster than last year. Thanks to Andrew and Ginny and Chris!
Talk to you all soon.
Geoff