Tuesday 10 February 2015

Rookies - Take Note

Things I have learned in the last week:

  1. Swimming pool water will strip your fake tan off and make you look like you have vitiligo.
  2. Running too much with crappy shoes and unconditioned legs can lead to compartment syndrome
  3. Dressing as a fluoro 80's athlete at the Wellington 7's does not constitute training
  4. I am not allowed to compete in a half IronMan triathlon using a flutter-board or snorkel.


Last week's training was a bit of a write off. Every run caused un-bearable pain in my calves and my 7's hangover prevented any productive training over the weekend. Let's be honest, it prevented ANY training over the weekend. 
Short 30 min runs covering 5-6km may seem easy going, but when your leg muscles aren't conditioned to the impact it can cause a bit of carnage. I've had a niggling ache in the side of my left calf muscle which I learned can be the start of Acute Compartment Syndrome. Essentially my calf muscles are swelling up and bashing against the connective tissue surrounding them causing further swelling and pain. When it's acute like this, and clearly caused from a not-so-elegant running style, it can easily be fixed with a bit of rest and stability training. I've chatted with the training team and Emma has got me focussing more on my swimming this week, giving the running a break until I can buy some shoes that won't destroy my calf muscles. Scotty and Cath have both got me doing stability type workouts to help prepare my legs for hitting the pavement.

Coolest Kid at Freyberg
Monday was the first day I braved the pool by myself. Armed with my bright pink one-piece and my Turbo the Snail swimming cap, I marched out to the pool only to have my confidence shattered by the lack of a "slow" lane. I slid into the "medium" lane and used the other person there (a 75+ year old woman) as a pace setter for the next 30 mins. 

My big focus for this session was to focus on my breathing to get a little less panicky in the water. It's a bizarre feeling, I'm not worried I will drown, I just feel like I can never get enough air for the work I'm asking my body to do. Apparently this is pretty normal. I'm trying to hold my breath rather than force it out and get rid of the CO2 build up. Read this.
Tomorrow will be a big test. I'm going to ditch the flutter board and face a 50m pool. I may have a snail on my swimming cap, but I'm actually pretty serious about nailing this swimming thing.

Oh, and I entered an ocean swim event which is in 2 weeks. It's time to train. 
Note for concerned family members - it's a novice entry. 150m swim and 2km run. There will be safety boats.


I've got 2 more swims planned for this week, a few dates with my worst enemy the foam roller, then I think it's time I took my expensive room mate out for a spin. 

I'm referring to my bike. 









Monday 2 February 2015

Officially Committed

It's official. I have to do this.

If something was to commit me to a race I think spending a few thousand dollars on a bike would be it. She's sleek and black with a personal touch of purple. She sleeps in my room and I don't like to leave her alone for too long. 



Going from a few pretty sound recommendations and with the help of my amazing friend Denise, I made the mission out to Lower Hutt to visit Brent at Cycle Science. These guys know how to look after you. We spent a solid 3 hours in the store discussing everything from the event I was preparing for to the colour of the handlebars. Brent fitted me perfectly to the bike and I made sure I was completely happy before personally loading the bike into the car and waving us goodbye. He's even invited me along to maintenance classes and group rides to help with my training. Freaken awesome!



I did however forget to grab the stock pedals which means I only have my Look pedals. 

My what now? 
The pedals my shoes actually clip into. They give you extra pull with each pedal stroke, therefore more efficient riding. What is not so efficient is when you can't unclip fast enough as you stop and subsequently fall flat on the road. Keep an eye out for posts about these falls because I guarantee they will happen. I will try to get photos.


Now for the pool
Here's a quick summary of how my first swim panned out.

  1. Swim one lap freestyle. 33m. Clutch the wall at the far end of the pool to prevent drowning from extreme fatigue. Disguise tears of anguish with pool water.
  2. Discuss with trainer (Scotty) to kick with straight legs, from the hip, rather than like a spastic frog.
  3. Clutch flutter board like life depends on it and swim 6 laps slowly, stopping for hip cramps and to bitch about my rubbish breathing technique.
  4. Sit in the spa and talk about anything other than swimming.
It went pretty well I thought.
Thanks for your patience Scotty. 


So now it begins. 10 months to go
Now that the first rubbish sessions are out of the way, I began my scheduled training today, set out by Emma. Follow me on Strava (Sam Bryant, Wellington NZ) if you'd like to track my progress.