Yeah. I worked the night shift last night and made it to the pool on the way home then a quick 45 min run. If you can get out now and manage your sessions, there is no reason to miss any due slackness when it brightens and warms up in the next few months.

Booked my accom as well.

already does the former.

I thought great I could go for rides with Colin and he is already averaging over 30km per hour on long rides.

Oh well...back riding by myself in the lounge room!

BTW every cent from B+ is a piece of gold.

cheers Plu

You and Colin can be ironman / ironmen together.
Do you have an exercise bike or turbo trainer in the lounge room .

Remember Rust never sleeps

Hey Hey My My
http://www.guntheranderson.com/v/data/mymyheyh.htm

Geez Plu - B+ already has a big bald head... now this

AK

ps. see you all in Busso!!

If I cannot ride with Colin I talk to him while riding. YouTube is down at the moment - clip below. I said Half Ironman instead of Half Marathon...Colin makes a guest appearance later in the clip...

Hi Aunty K

Looking forward to the privilege!

B+, keep those hints and tips coming - I'm a fan!

Geez Runitloveit, I feel like I'm training in a heatwave up here - it's 6 degrees! hehe

Thanks Muzman!

Yep, you won't get any better info or advice then from the lovely B+... in particular when it comes to training for IM. geeez there goes his big head again! ok, that is enough compliments from me for one day.

Cheers, K

Colin, Muzman, Aunty K, Plu, cheques are in the mail.. (now just get the boss to make my office door a bit wider)

Owie70........Be Positive OR be quiet!!

Colin PM me if you want to ask anything specific more than happy to assist if I can, as I know you would too.

Geez James, you didn't say that on the weekend.

Colin, I meant B+, not you. I'll remember that next time we are sitting at Caves House like we did two races ago.

I'm jealous - maximum today is 9 degrees. And it is STILL RAINING!

I'm just having a whinge!! I'm actually really pleased that I am getting out there and training - hopefully it will make it easier once the really long stuff is on the program.

YAY Aunty K - great that you will be there as well. Looks like we might have quite a few CRs out there.

Is it too early to ask about race wear? I did the half in my one piece tri-suit, and put a cycling top over the top for the cycle leg because my tri-suit doesn't have pockets (wish I had realised this when I bought it). I wanted to carry a back up spare tube with me and a spare powerbar, and my saddlebag and bento box were full, so needed the pockets. I just carried my gels on the run in my hand, but don't like the thought of this for the marathon. Could put my fuel belt on I guess, but then have to muck around with pinning my number onto it.

Even though it was cloudy and cool for the half I still got sunburnt on the run. I am thinking it is going to be a lot worse in December.

I understand there will be change tents - is it worth taking the time to fully change? Have other people thought about this yet?

Trust me to already be thinking about my outfit!!

Oh - and B+ I also appreciate your posts!!

Runitloveit - you have lot's of questions and I can try and help with a few things like race wear. I also did my HALF IM's last year in a one piece suit. However, for IM I wore a two piece suit due to the length of time I would be out on the course and it was alot easier when I had a loo trip along the way. Also, wearing a cycling jersey for the ride gives you more places to store your food. I also have a Bento Box on my bike. I should add that I carried all my own food supply and only thing I ever took from a Aid Station was drinks. I don't take in gels and my hubby mixes me up trail food mixes to nibble on along the way.

As for sunburn and those who know me understand my reluctance to put on sunscreen. I just hate putting it on myself but was forced to by TeamAK at Port Macq. I did enjoy getting a great tan training for IM and it has now faded away.

Yep, there were change tents at Port also. One tent for the boys and another for the gals. The only thing I changed was my socks. It is totally a individual choice but I found changing my socks made my feet feel a bit fresher off the bike then onto the run.

Lucky for you that you have quite a while to test out different clothes, food, drinks etc. As B+ tells me that this is what training is for testing everything so there is NO surprises on race day... and he was right.

Hope this helps a little.

AK

Runitloveit,

I intend to wear a trip top and tri shorts on bike and run as one piece suits don't have enough chamois in them for such a long ride. Which means I will be doing the swim in something else and getting into dry gear at T1.

As a change tent volunteer for years, I saw a lot of age groupers get fully changed for each leg - it's a personal/comfort thing but one piece of good advice I have picked up is to make sure you put fresh socks on for the run. A longer transition won't destroy our times much as BOP or MOP age groupers, so I intend to make the most of it. Was it Rohan or Miners who had a snooze in T2 at IMOZ??

I am also thinking about a Fuel belt which I intend to wear together with a race belt - put both bike and run numbers back to back on the belt, and flip it over in transiton and drag it to the front for the run. Beware - the race rules say if you're showing the bike number in the run leg (and vice versa) you can be DQ'd. Same if you have your number on front in the bike and on the back in the run. I know they gave warnings for it at Forster.


The downside of Fuel belts is you tend to run out of stuff HOURS before the end of an Ironman, and so have to fill all the bottles at the aid stations. Up to you if you want to do that, I guess. I'm still tossing up.

I intend to practice all this during my longest rides/runs./bricks, BTW, and choose what works for me.

Owie70, I have no idea who you are but I am fairly confident that if you "actually" came to one of my sessions that you probably wouldn't complete it....
PS I am happy for you to front up if you have the guts and lets see what your made of...

I am not sure of the other athletes on this threads abilities barring 2 so i will only comment on those two. Assuming you are going to Busso and thats why your reading this thread, then here is my prediction 6 months out

Colin - Aunty K - daylight - Owie70.........Mmm beaten by an old man and a chick

Of that I am POSITIVE

Ps I am waiting to hear from you and see if you can handle my 2c worth in a session


MY 2c worth on clothing
I get my race tops (cycling) and have a full zipper put into them. this way I can have my pockets packed pre-race and when i come out of the water and into the tent to change I just put on a dry top and zip it up ready to go. It saves heaps of time and hassle in the tent when you are wet and your hands are shaking from the swim effort.
I swim with only my cycle nicks on under my wetty so T1 is shoes socks and shirt + helemt and sunnys
T2 new socks and run shoes - hat- new shirt and depending on weather a shorts change.
I wouldn't race IM in a one piece mainly beacuse if it gets uncomfortable it does not afford you as many ways to move it to get more comfortable as a 2 piece.
But it is a personal thing, hence why I have always advised athletes to do all your long sessions in the clothes you expect to race in to know if it all feels good on consistent basis.

B+ - Colin isn't that old ;) and I love being called a 'chick'!!

AK

You are very kind Aunty, though I seem to often hear that ad these days "If you are over 50 and no longer working...." . Since when is 50 a pensioner?

B+ at the moment Aunty is ahead of me, having tamed one of the beasts already.

... and your sessions described look so tough, I'm wondering how I'm going to get through them.

Hmm, what to wear - this might need some more pondering. Will think about it on long ride.

Might be an excuse to buy (and try) some new gear!

Thanks for everyone's thoughts on the matter.

B+ - shaky hands in transition are definitely a consideration. I don't want to fiddle around too much with getting stuff on and off because I know I will be shaky (in both transitions!).

When it comes to racing it one peice Tri Suits for Ironman's I have heard and seen alot of people put there carbo shotz etc up the end of there short leg, being that the elastic is generally very firm they hold in place well, I have used this theory even with 2 peice suits on running sessions. Works well for people who dont feel comfortable in fuel belts.

But like mentioned already from my local tri club alot of people get fully changed, mostly for the comfort and I was surprised it doesn't take that long for a quick dry off after swim and slip into full cycling gear, then same again at T2 to slip out of Cycling Gear into Run Gear.

Just to throw another idea at you all I have seen a few people put on One Peice Tri suits just for the run, as they feel fast in the suits.

Cheers

Hey Muzman,

Check out the Amphipod range of hydration belts - they are much better than Fuel Belts because the bottles clip into the belt rather than the strap system on the fuel belt - much less fiddly.

I got mine from here: http://revelsports.com/amphipod.asp

With the $A so high at the moment its pretty good value, I haven't found an Australian distributor.

I use mine on every long run over 20k and find it the bees knees!

Cheers,

Danny

Wow, Danny! Thanks for that, they certainly look the goods!

I don't know how many times I've dropped a Fuel Belt bottle on the deck by poking it straight through the elastic loops. Depending on whether I'm training or racing, I may not even go back for the damn thing.

I think I'm a convert.

Cheers

Oh noo Danny - I am already addicted to buying triathlon gear from America!! Can't believe you have found another great shopping site!!

I have seen the Amphipod advertised in the American triathlon magazines - they look good.

Problem is I can't stop at just one item! And the Aussie $ is making it hard to resist...

I quite like my fuel belt, but have dropped bottles by putting the back in and they slip out through the elastic. I also found the bottles were too small to really be of any benefit, so I bought the larger bottles.

Muzman - you can probably answer this for me, but if there is female and male change tents does that mean I can fully strip off in the change tents? I am thinking if I am going to change then I will want to change everything.

Sorry if this is a silly question - mind you, as they say, there is no such thing as a silly question, only silly people!!

Don't want to plan on getting all my gear off if it is not the done thing in the change tents!

You can fully strip off in the change tents if you want to and they also have helpers to assist you if you require it.

K

2 tents a little one forthe girls and a larger one for the boys...mainly due to numbers in the race. Feel free to whip it all off...as long as there is something bck on before you exit!!

Quell challenge in Roth.....common change tent and shower and everybody got their gear off with no dramas, or so I'm told. (note to self "I've got to do this race")

tip...When you go into the change tents have a clear plan in your head of how you will get changed and ready for the next leg and let the helpers know as you approach them. This way things are done as you want them and it all runs smoothly.

Hi Runitloveit

AuntyK and B+ have already answered pretty well from a competitor point of view, but from a volly pov it was my job to help the racer off with his wetsuit (won't be an issue in Dec), get his stuff out of his bike bag and lay it out nicely, help him get a top on over a wet body and then stuff his pockets with gels, tubes, tools, etc before sending him on his merry way.

The rules will say you have to pack up your own bag and drop it into storage, but we always did it for you.

Some racers made it a leisurely experience while others raced through it in a panic, but if there are enough vollies on the day, just about everyone gets a "dresser", except during the really really peak time when the bulk of the age groupers get out of the water. I was sometimes helping two or three guys at a time. When you run into the tent, the 'spare' dressers should be holding up their arms so you can go straight to them. Don't race in anything you are not willing to lose, though, because even though everyone tries hard, there is always stuff dropped out of bags and left behind etc.

This is why Ironman vollies are a special breed - 7am in the morning and I was already covered in salt water, spit, sweat and other unmentionable substances - with only 18 hours left in my day!!! I am quite looking forward to being a competitor and having an easier day of it

Hi runitloveit,

I have heaps of great American websites that I get gear from!! I am going to gear-a-holics anonymous but that little Aussie Bleeder the $A is not helping me by being so strong at the moment!

If you haven't seen these ones check out:

http://www.trisports.com/
http://www.runningwarehouse.com/

I have bought some great stuff from these that you can't get in Australia or other stuff for much cheaper (including delivery!) But beware there is a direct relationship between the infinite amount of gear out there and the finite resources of the triathlete!

Cheers,

Danny

PS: I am down in Goulburn all next week and not looking forward to the cold weather!!

Really!! I've just changed this race from "wow, I would love to do that one day" to "I am definitely going to do this". Might have some mighty slow transition times through the tent though!

Thanks everyone - will take all those comments on board in planning my outfit. The most important consideration is what will match my new Cervelo!! Muzman - I hope you are colour coordinating your outfit with your new race tyres!

Danny - I need to join you at those meetings. I love new gear, and getting those parcels from America is such a highlight - plus I find it so much cheaper than shopping in Aus.

If you have tried them already check out

http://www.rei.com/
and
http://www.sierratradingpost.com/

REI stock Clif Bars which I LOVE and use on my long rides - Sierra is currently having a 50% off all women's clothing sale and I am trying to stay away from that site.

If you are in Goulburn and have time to do join us in Canberra for a training session let me know - we swim Mon, Wed, Fri 6-7.30pm and run Tue, Thur 6-7.30pm. Otherwise enjoy our neck of the woods - a delightful 11C today, but at least it isn't raining!

Hi runitloveit,

Thanks for the offer! I will be doing some long days so I will be doing my training in the morning!

Cheers,

Danny

Ohh - frosty jocks on those morning runs!! Enjoy!! You might want to pack some gloves and earwarmers.

I have already spent my next three pays on that running warehouse site!

Ha - thats a good one isnt it! Got all my winter gear packed - taking the wind trainer with me too!

Well my "Team" for the Busselton Ironman has mostly come together.....

I have a swimmer who is keen but not 100% as yet but he wants to know what sort of km's he will have to do to be able to be a competitive swimmer over the Ironman distance...

My question to all you very helpfull triathletes who dont mind putting in there 2 cents worth is; can any one post there swim program they will be or have used for Ironman swim training?

Thanks

If you are racing as a team you would do different (read more) swim training than if you are doing the whole thing.
Triathlets are time poor.

For training programs for the swimmer look at training programs for swimmers not specifically for triathlon.
It depends at what point your swimmer is at as to what program you could/would use.
If he/she is already a good swimmer what are they doing now?
If he/she is not a good swimmer what can they do now?

Difference is if you can swim 4X1000m already then you just add more of the same.
If max is 4X100m maybe the swimmer needs some stroke correct first for the biggest gains.

Still the best thing to do would be join a squad great training no need to think about it the coach doe sit all for you.
As long as you tell them your goal and time frame. most coaches would be able to help.

Brick

Cheers Brick.

Will keep those points in mind.

Hello

Look I have not read through the whole thread...the title actually caught my eye. I have always wanted to do an Ironman...I'm 30 in December...a couple of years ago I thought that I would love to do one before my 30th.

But...then I decided to concentrate on improving my marathon time... and the thought of cycling scares me!

I've done several Olympic Distance tris (biggest ride is 50km). I dreaded the bike leg! I am a slow cyclist and swimmer too.

How realistic do you think it is for me to do Ironman Busselton this year? My average bike speed over 40km is 23km/hr! Yep...slow!!! I would probably have to get a new bike as old one is rusting due to little use!

I've got a lot of running km in my legs. Just finished the Gold Coast Marathon. Think the recovery period is driving me nuts! Just having insane thoughts of wanting to do Ironman with hardly any bike experience.

So what do you think! Psych ward???

Tilly:-)

Tilly,
you could finish it although it probably won't be pretty, there is however still plenty of time. You will want to start getting some longer bike km in from now.
How do you feel about swim 1.96km straight out to sea and then turning around and swimming back in?
This is the swim course so consider that as well.

Hi Tilly,

Good on you for the goal but I agree with B+ Have you thought about the Gold Coast Half Ironman on 30 September?

Cheers,

Danny

Well, today is the first day of my 20-week Ironman training program, so I guess I'm officially "on the road", now.

First up, a big swim day. Can't wait to see the look on my coach's face at swim squad when I hand him my swim program for the next 20 weeks.

Not that he hasn't seen an Ironman program before - he just never expected to see me doing one.

Hot tip for your swimming. Pretend you are an Eel in a bucket of snot.

WTF???

Hi Muzman,

How is the training going? You still doing the Hunter Valley Half this weekend??

Hi runitloveit,

How are you going down there in the sub arctic temps??

Cheers,

Danny

Hi Danny

I'm one long ride away from finishing the first week of my prgram, and I have been feeling pretty ordinary after going down with the bug last week I have had to shorten my swim sessions this week, but got through everything else OK. My fitness has taken a bit of a hit, though. Can't wait for the weather to get warmer (not as much as runitloveit wants it to, though!).

I'll be at HV this weekend, but will only be cantering the 10km as it is supposed to be my rest day, and I need it!

Watch out for me hanging round the Bandaged Bear fundraising tent. A friend of mine has organised it all, so I'm hoping to flog you a temporary tatt or two, all for a good cause.

Train safe.

I'm doing OK - this morning I saw a guy out cycling in only short knicks and a jersey, mind you, it was a balmy 5C (pretty good for a Canberra morning).

I'm just slowing building up my base, recovery week last week and picking it up a bit more this week. Long ride to come on Sunday morning (4 hours) where the predicted temperature is -2C. Nice. Having fun getting used to the new Cervelo, my swimming is slightly improving (my coach will probably disagree - he spends the entire time telling me to put my head in the water and stop looking around - I'm not too good at the head position part of swimming) and running is going great! I really love the running part.

So things are travelling along nicely.

Have been reading a fantastic book by I think it is Kara Thom - it is a collection of stories about people's experience at their first ironman. It is called "Becoming an Ironman". I highly recommend it - Muzman if you can't find it let me know and I will post it up for you to read. I bought it at Borders where it was on the 50% off table! Unbelievable!

Also thank you for everyone's advice re fashion on the field - I have ordered a top/pants set from my favourite American shopping site, and will do some training in that and see how it feels. Leaving my options open until I can actually train in my potential race gear, rather than needing to add gloves, long pants, arm warmers, beanie etc etc.

Hi Muzman and runitloveit,

Great stuff on the initial training! runitloveit A new Cervelo?? which one did you get?

See you on Sunday Muzman.

Cheers,

Danny

I got the soloist team - it was a toss up between that and the P2 SL, but I just felt like I wasn't quite ready for a triathlon specific bike yet. I felt more comfortable on the soloist, so I put aerobars on it and I love that bike so much my heart hurts!

It has prime position in the lounge room on the windtrainer at the moment.

Only thing I had to change was the seat - got a women's specific one put on after a rather uncomfortable ride on the stock standard seat. It also meant a change from a triple chain ring to a double, but the Cervelo is so much lighter that I haven't been missing the granny gear too much, even on the steep hills. I feel like this is making me a stronger cyclist as well.

Sleek, fast and sexy, my best purchase ever!

Hi you two

RILI, sounds like I'm not the only one to luuurve my bike! Can't wait to see it. BTW, my Felt originally had a triple chainring but I took the smallest one off. That left me with a small chainring of 43, which is ideal for Busselton, according to the race Handbook. I also have a standard 39 which I will whack on when I am in hillier locales. What about your Felt, Danny? Triple or double?

Thanks also for the offer of the book, but I ordered my own from A&R online. Sounds like a 'keeper'.

Catch up on Sunday Danny, and other CRs doing the run(s).

Hi guys,

My Felt is going great (on the wind trainer too!) but I am just about to take possession of a brand spaking new Scott Plasma Pro! The Cervelo soloist team gets rave reviews from everyone who owns one - that aero tubing is wild too!

See you Sunday

Danny

Hi Everyone

As an ironman first timer I have been scanning the net to see what hints and tips I can get and I'm overwhelmed with how much information there is. I have a great coach who is taking me through everything baby step by baby step. I'm relatively new to the sport of triathlon and to tell the truth any exercise really so it's hard not to get overwhelmed.

This site seems to be just perfect and I have read all the messages and got some great tips. It's really nice to know that I'm not the only one struggling with the cold (even though I'm in Queensland). It's been really tough getting out there and I've just recovered from my second cold in two months. What I need is a new perspective on the cold! Perhaps it will come just in time for Spring.

So it's now 9 weeks until my first half ironman and 18 weeks to Busso. It will be my 30th birthday on race day and I can't wait to bring it in with the biggest achievement of my life.

I know my body is up for it; but how will my mind cope?????

This has turned into a nervous Ironman dump for me and perhaps serves as a slight introduction. I do hope to get some great things from you all in the coming months; I've already really appreciated the tips on my outfit for the day.

Next up nutrition - how to stop feeling nausa about hour no. 6

Cheers

Hi Pecka, great to see you here! Hope the training is going well.

Thought the coldest had passed here where I live but just had another 'numb feet' ride this morning.

I also am appreciating the tips and hints here from more experienced Ironmen, but I am cautious of info overload. I will take on board anything that I was wondering about, but if something is already working for me, I won't touch it.

As far as the mental thing goes, I plan to train my head the same as my body. That is, during my longest rides and bricks in a few weeks' time, I will be practicing my mental toughness. It is going to be just as hard training those long hours when you are not used to it, so you will need a good mental approach long before we get to the start line.

Ditto with the nutrition - I will try some stuff out on my longest of the long and see what works, if it doesn't work then, i will ditch it and try something else. At least I know I can usually stomach the stuff they are dishing up at Busso - Gatorade and PowerBar - unlike some poor souls who can't handle it.

I assume you're doing Gold Coast Half Ironman on Sept 30th? Me too! Hopefully we can catch up and compare notes for Busso.

Cheers

Danny - looking forward to a report on the new Scott - that is one nice bike you have got yourself!!

Pecka - welcome! great to have another CRunner on board for this race. And what a fantastic way to celebrate your 30th birthday.

I also almost posted a 'nervous ironman dump' message last week, but after a solid weekend of training I feel like I am back on track. I think you have captured it with needing to work on ironman in baby steps, and just tackle each piece of the puzzle as it arises. Otherwise it all gets too overwhelming.

Plus I am making sure that ironman isn't my total life - well, at the moment it is, but I am also scheduling time off, even if it is just an evening where I can go to dinner and not write down what I am eating!!

Nutrition - I am training with clif bars (buy them online from the USA) as I find they have more flavour then powerbars as well as my favourite - vegemite sandwich on high GI white bread. Also plan on using Gu for the run. My problem is bloating - my stomach swells and feels gross, even though I can get the food down and maintain my energy through a race.

Hi All

I just finished the third week of my 20-week training program for IMWA and I can feel my fitness and strength returning (about bloody time!). My HR during my easy runs is back to the level it was when I did Canberra Marathon and my legs no longer feel like rusty iron bars after a long run or ride.

My long ride this morning was done into the teeth of a howling gale (even at 7am) and it was one of those famous Forster headwinds that blow in your face no matter if you turn 180 degrees and come back again (former Forster Ironmen will know exactly what I mean). Added to that the disgraceful condition of my local roads, and it makes for a pretty tough workout, especially with my heavy old training wheelset on. Mind you, it was worth it because it is much more heavily spoked than my race set, which I probably would have busted this morning avoiding idiot drivers.

Our Council really have let this main road go now there is not the annual incentive of Ironman to keep it fit for road bikes. Mind you, the damn thing is barely fit for CARS the state it's in.

All in all, quite pleased with the way it's coming together, but still a long way to go and I have that psychological barrier of 6 hours on the bike to face up to. When I think what else I can achieve in 6 hours, it quite boggles the mind!

Hope everyone else's training is going well. BTW Runitloveit, I have no idea what I'm wearing yet, it's miles too early, but I think I will steer away from a tri suit and go for a tri top and knicks. Perhaps a complete change at each transition. I have other things to focus on before that though, and no matter what I wear, I still won't resemble Macca or Shorto. More like the Yeti or Bigfoot!

Hey All

Just checked the website, and the official drink will be Endura Magnesium Rehydration Formula Lemon Lime. Also the 2007 information booklet has been uploaded as well.

This is starting to feel real!!

After a nasty virus last week I have had a couple of good, solid training weeks. Muzman - good to hear you are travelling along well.

Endura!! What happened to Gatorade? What am I going to do with all of this Gatorade Fierce Berry I just bought? Bugger!!!

Seriously, Endura is pretty good stuff, and I know I can handle it OK. Plus, I can get it from my local Tri shop guy, which I prefer to do anyway.

I heard some suss rumours about Gatorade but no-one would elaborate. Has anyone heard that you shouldn't drink too much Gatorade, or is it an urban myth? I would think that all the commercial stuff would be on a par, effectiveness-wise, and not harmful in any way. Then it was down to personal choice and what the old tum could handle.