The gear, bike, and myself have arrived safely back in Australia. It is always nice returning after a trip but this time I got even more of a surprise with the amount that Sam's tummy has grown out in the front. From behind you cannot notice a change but when she turns to the side, wow. Four more months of this amazing experience before we welcome the bub. I am not sure how big it will get but by the look of things so far, I could not imagine how Sam could have coped if there were twins inside!
On the training front, I have been turning over with a few runs and a couple of bike rides. It is seriously cold here in Australia in the mornings with a large amount of towns having their 'coldest ever days'. I have to say I have crept back into bed twice after heading out to grab my running shoes from a frozen/frosty balcony. Bed is soooo nice when you do not have to get out at 5am for a session.
Time to brave the mornings again though as the recovery period is over. It is run focus time and entry into the Sydney Marathon on the 21st September is in the plans. I have only run one straight marathon before in 2000 two weeks after my first Ironman. I helped a mate to break the 3 hour barrier and I think we came in around 2:58hrs. I had also ran backwards on the course for a bit to help another mate to try a crack the 3hr mark, so it should be interesting to see what I can pull out running the marathon straight for myself. The bike and swim will still get a go each week but with more of a run focus, I am looking forward to the different training that it will entail. Always nice to try something different.
Looking back on Roth, the race is magnificent. The Solarberg lives up to all the pictures you see and the noise is unbelievable. Now that I know the course I will be able to prepare a bit better for it. Also, my host family were great and made the experience memorable. I will be catching up with the Fuersts again for sure. There were the most amount of spectators on course at Roth that I have seen anywhere in the world for an Ironman. And this was on a day where it was 10 degrees and pouring with rain. It is a very honest course. The swim in the canal makes it comfortable for both good swimmers and those that are not confident with plenty of space in the canal and good wave starts to break it up. The bike course is a little more technical than I thought it would be with a fair few rolling hills. It is not a flat course like Western Australia or Florida but the roads are good. The run is very much dead flat on either a gravel or concrete surface (predominantly gravel) which allows for you to get into a good rhythm. On the run at each village there seemed to be beer tables set up and people in a 'jovial' mood. Great support to get you out of a troubled patch or continue flying along. Nice forest and off road parts with some long stretches on the canal make it a good mental challenge also. Really, you can work your strength on this course and go for a good overall time. This all said, it is not an easy course and you can be lulled into a sense of going for it when tempering the pace is needed. Many an athlete has seen the wheels tumble off a pb due to this fact. The mini 'stadium' of the hemisphere finish chute is 'goosebumpy' and where else do athletes get a bouquet of flowers to carry into the chute to finish with unless you are the top 3? Then being handed the Erdinger beer straight after the finish line is a great way to celebrate.
Did it live up to the hype? Most definitely. I can only imagine what it would be like on a sunny day and it is something I hope to experience because I will definitely be making my way back.
When I get my race photos I will post a few and also some of the training grounds around Eckental. Time to go battle the cold weather and the Sydney traffic and dream of the warm weather around the corner.
Cheers,
Bevan.
Monday, 28 July 2008
Tuesday, 15 July 2008
Roth Race Report - 9hrs21 - A Wet Day in Many Ways
Hi Guys,
Finished the Roth Ironman on sunday and I have to say I am a little disappointed in how things went. No excuses, just couldn't get the running going. Good times for others including a new world record for Yvonne Van Klerken in the womens event and a win for Patrick Vernay in the mens. I just couldn't put together the 3:10-3:15 hour run that I was aiming for. Until I get this run right I am not going to make any great improvements on the leader board. However, I had a good comfortable swim and bike under the conditions (torrential downpour on swim-bike) and my first half of the run went well. Now is a bit of a break and then it is time to focus solely on my run for the next few months (which is has been the plan from coach since day one post roth).
The skinny: Swim 49:56 Bike 4:49:48 Run 3:37:55 Total 9:21:31 New record for number of pee's on the bike of 15 and 6 on the run! (This is not a good record).
Swim: Plan was to keep in the big lead group and swim fast but comfortable sub 50min. Got into a few scuffles with people who have no idea how to draft and someone undoing my wettie meant I fell off the back of the lead group at the 2km mark. Could not make it back up without redlining for a while so swam strong but comfortable. Sub 50min so ok, but dissapointed lost the main group and 1-2mins. Swim training is going well as I thought I would have swam slower after losing the group.
Bike: Plan - to ride comfortable in heart rate zone, spin hills, work hard to get in a good position early on but not expend much energy, and set myself up for the ability to test my training and have a good run rather than getting a fast bike time and holding on in the run. Actual - found myself riding well and fast picking up the guys in front of me from the swim. Hit a big group about 35km mark which must have been the big swim pack. First part of course is downhill and some technical parts so the group was travelling faster in the rain with some locals knowing the course better to pick up time. Quickly went through the group and just concentrated on higher rpms, heart rate, and feeling comfortable. Dropped group and rode off front without any effort. Kept up a good comfortable work rate and focused on myself rather than groups etc. and confident in training and race plan. At about 55km mark I had my first pee and this continued every 10km til the end of the bike (and long ones also, not this hit and miss stuff). Hitting the famous Solarberg was an awesome sight. Even in the terrible conditions people were everywhere and the sound was unbelievable. I made a conscious effort to not get caught up in it when I passed road supporters (including the beer mile - people with tables of steins lining the road and having a good ol' party at 9am). Kept it going, and at 90km special needs station Matthias informed me I was less than 10mins behind a flying lead group and on the verge of the top 10. I could see a group of 3-4 guys ahead of me by a few minutes but I could not make any inroads without going all out for a fair bit. So kept it controlled and stayed to the plan. Around 115km mark I was joined by a few guys hammering the bike who had gone top 5-10 here before and we kept a good distance between us but paced well off each other. Was still peeing all the time and body felt bloated but not in the stomach. Just couldnt stop peeing huge amounts about 1min+ each time. Tried to keep the nutrition going. Ride was feeling very easy and worked on spinning and getting the legs ready for a good run. I knew I could ride much faster and harder but stuck to the plan and was looking at a 4:45 easy bike. Most comfortable 4:49 I have rode given the 15 pee stops, the rain slowing the technical parts, and no pushing it to take to much energy from my run. Bike training is going well and I am confident I can ride 4:40's or better comfortably now for Ironman anywhere.
Run: Plan - First 5km and last 5km take care of themselves, other parts need to be on pace and comfortable so I can work it from 25km onwards. Actual - Feeling good off the bike and ready for a good run knowing I had taken the bike as planned. First 10km good comfortable 4:30-4:37ish pace, next 10 km 4:45-5min pace (still peeing). This was ok as still on target and just had to hold it together for next 22km for a 3:15 and good sub 9. Next 10km started to falter and time was blowing out. Couldn't get the acceleration going or high knee lift. Was turning over legs ok, just no real push off no matter what trick I tried. This pretty much continued all the way to the end. Disappointing as I have worked on this and at no point did I walk (shuffle peeing must have been fun for the spectators). Body was bloated all day in the skin-muscles and I just kept on peeing. Have to sort this out also as sure it did not help my cause. Grabbed the Aussie flag from Matthias and was handed a bouquet of flowers from the Quelle girls for the 100m finish shute loop and finish photo. First thing you see in the finish area past the cameras is the Erdinger Beer Table staff handing you a pint of beer. Ah! That and a toilet stop (again) and I was a happy man ready for a leg massage.
Will write up also about the overall experience of the race. It is truly as people report and you see in the magazines with people crowded in like tour de france hill stages. I can only imagine what it would be like on a day where it is not cold and without a torrential downpour all day and there are even more people out.
Bevan resting up for now,
Ciao.
Finished the Roth Ironman on sunday and I have to say I am a little disappointed in how things went. No excuses, just couldn't get the running going. Good times for others including a new world record for Yvonne Van Klerken in the womens event and a win for Patrick Vernay in the mens. I just couldn't put together the 3:10-3:15 hour run that I was aiming for. Until I get this run right I am not going to make any great improvements on the leader board. However, I had a good comfortable swim and bike under the conditions (torrential downpour on swim-bike) and my first half of the run went well. Now is a bit of a break and then it is time to focus solely on my run for the next few months (which is has been the plan from coach since day one post roth).
The skinny: Swim 49:56 Bike 4:49:48 Run 3:37:55 Total 9:21:31 New record for number of pee's on the bike of 15 and 6 on the run! (This is not a good record).
Swim: Plan was to keep in the big lead group and swim fast but comfortable sub 50min. Got into a few scuffles with people who have no idea how to draft and someone undoing my wettie meant I fell off the back of the lead group at the 2km mark. Could not make it back up without redlining for a while so swam strong but comfortable. Sub 50min so ok, but dissapointed lost the main group and 1-2mins. Swim training is going well as I thought I would have swam slower after losing the group.
Bike: Plan - to ride comfortable in heart rate zone, spin hills, work hard to get in a good position early on but not expend much energy, and set myself up for the ability to test my training and have a good run rather than getting a fast bike time and holding on in the run. Actual - found myself riding well and fast picking up the guys in front of me from the swim. Hit a big group about 35km mark which must have been the big swim pack. First part of course is downhill and some technical parts so the group was travelling faster in the rain with some locals knowing the course better to pick up time. Quickly went through the group and just concentrated on higher rpms, heart rate, and feeling comfortable. Dropped group and rode off front without any effort. Kept up a good comfortable work rate and focused on myself rather than groups etc. and confident in training and race plan. At about 55km mark I had my first pee and this continued every 10km til the end of the bike (and long ones also, not this hit and miss stuff). Hitting the famous Solarberg was an awesome sight. Even in the terrible conditions people were everywhere and the sound was unbelievable. I made a conscious effort to not get caught up in it when I passed road supporters (including the beer mile - people with tables of steins lining the road and having a good ol' party at 9am). Kept it going, and at 90km special needs station Matthias informed me I was less than 10mins behind a flying lead group and on the verge of the top 10. I could see a group of 3-4 guys ahead of me by a few minutes but I could not make any inroads without going all out for a fair bit. So kept it controlled and stayed to the plan. Around 115km mark I was joined by a few guys hammering the bike who had gone top 5-10 here before and we kept a good distance between us but paced well off each other. Was still peeing all the time and body felt bloated but not in the stomach. Just couldnt stop peeing huge amounts about 1min+ each time. Tried to keep the nutrition going. Ride was feeling very easy and worked on spinning and getting the legs ready for a good run. I knew I could ride much faster and harder but stuck to the plan and was looking at a 4:45 easy bike. Most comfortable 4:49 I have rode given the 15 pee stops, the rain slowing the technical parts, and no pushing it to take to much energy from my run. Bike training is going well and I am confident I can ride 4:40's or better comfortably now for Ironman anywhere.
Run: Plan - First 5km and last 5km take care of themselves, other parts need to be on pace and comfortable so I can work it from 25km onwards. Actual - Feeling good off the bike and ready for a good run knowing I had taken the bike as planned. First 10km good comfortable 4:30-4:37ish pace, next 10 km 4:45-5min pace (still peeing). This was ok as still on target and just had to hold it together for next 22km for a 3:15 and good sub 9. Next 10km started to falter and time was blowing out. Couldn't get the acceleration going or high knee lift. Was turning over legs ok, just no real push off no matter what trick I tried. This pretty much continued all the way to the end. Disappointing as I have worked on this and at no point did I walk (shuffle peeing must have been fun for the spectators). Body was bloated all day in the skin-muscles and I just kept on peeing. Have to sort this out also as sure it did not help my cause. Grabbed the Aussie flag from Matthias and was handed a bouquet of flowers from the Quelle girls for the 100m finish shute loop and finish photo. First thing you see in the finish area past the cameras is the Erdinger Beer Table staff handing you a pint of beer. Ah! That and a toilet stop (again) and I was a happy man ready for a leg massage.
Will write up also about the overall experience of the race. It is truly as people report and you see in the magazines with people crowded in like tour de france hill stages. I can only imagine what it would be like on a day where it is not cold and without a torrential downpour all day and there are even more people out.
Bevan resting up for now,
Ciao.
Sunday, 13 July 2008
Roth #4 - Checked in and Ready to Go
Hi Guys,
Well all is ready for tommorrow morning and my first go at the famous Quelle Challenge. My final blow the cobwebs out session in the morning after a birthday breaky with the Fürsts has me feeling ready to go. I am confident in the training I have completed over the past 10 weeks under a new coach and with the support of Sam (plus growing bub), Nick from Platypus Asset Management, and my other friends, training partners, and sponsors. I am looking at a good performance with the aim of moving towards future goals in mind for tommorrows race.
Thanks for all the well wishes and birthday messages (today is my 33rd birthday). Much appreciated. It is always nice to get some support when you are on the other side of the world preparing for a race. I always seem to be away for my birthday with the European races predominantly focusing there major races in the first two weeks of July.
Rego went without a hassle. The expo was not too bad at all, with many new triathlon brands for me to view for the shop. Plenty of those bike brands that we have not heard of at all in Oz and each seem to be a carbon blend with plenty of bling factor.
I went over the course and am glad that I did. It is quite a hilly course with many rolling hills and long slight inclines. But then you have perfect road surfaces and long descents to pick the speed up and make it a fast course. Some "hairy" corners though especially in the wet and the hay bails are already awaiting a few people I think. You could make the mistake of going hard on one of the big climbs early on where there is a steep 10%+ incline for a short 1km, but it then continues for the next 5kms into a headwind. So some patience is needed on the course.
Last night I completed a phone interview with Tim Moore who writes for Triathlete mag in the US and other triathlon related media foremats. The interview was mostly about the doping in triathlon, testing or lack thereof, and ways of moving forward for our sport. This is becoming more of a hot topic of late with some of the major races (eg Frankfurt and Roth Ironmans) making large efforts in testing and after a couple of major positive results occuring in the last year/s. It will be interesting to read the article when it is published. Other athletes to talk to Tim have included Chris Lieto, Faris Al Sultan, and many other prominent athletes. Again we have another cyclist testing positive, Manuel Beltran, at the Tour de France and bringing it to light in the media for all. I am looking forward to a challenging but clean race against top athletes here in Roth on Sunday.
At bike check in today I met up with Clemens Coenen, a German friend who raced in Japan with me. His fiancee is racing tommorrow and I have been told to look out for the "get going" slap on the Solarberg (the tour de france like hill where people crowd in and there is no gap in front of wou until they peel away). Nice guy, and look forward to catching up again post race for the promised beer.
Sam says the bub is growing great guns at the moment and is kicking all over the place. Probably trying to give me a boot and help me along tommorrow ;) .
The forecast is for either 8-15 degrees or 10-16degrees depending on the weather channel. What they both agree on is heavy rain for the day. This shall make the bike course a bit slower, 10mins the locals say. I like racing in the cold and wet so should suit me perfectly, especially considering the cold conditions in Sydney. I cannot wait to get out and put all my training into place during the race and be patient but focused for a good, quick result tommorrow. The main aim is a good run and everything else will fall into place.
So, I am off for my last carbo load, some tour de france tv, and reading Sams movitational cards she writes each time I take off to race. Next blog will bring my report about racing the Quelle challenge and ticking another box off my triathlon list of to do's...
Cheers,
Bevan.
Well all is ready for tommorrow morning and my first go at the famous Quelle Challenge. My final blow the cobwebs out session in the morning after a birthday breaky with the Fürsts has me feeling ready to go. I am confident in the training I have completed over the past 10 weeks under a new coach and with the support of Sam (plus growing bub), Nick from Platypus Asset Management, and my other friends, training partners, and sponsors. I am looking at a good performance with the aim of moving towards future goals in mind for tommorrows race.
Thanks for all the well wishes and birthday messages (today is my 33rd birthday). Much appreciated. It is always nice to get some support when you are on the other side of the world preparing for a race. I always seem to be away for my birthday with the European races predominantly focusing there major races in the first two weeks of July.
Rego went without a hassle. The expo was not too bad at all, with many new triathlon brands for me to view for the shop. Plenty of those bike brands that we have not heard of at all in Oz and each seem to be a carbon blend with plenty of bling factor.
I went over the course and am glad that I did. It is quite a hilly course with many rolling hills and long slight inclines. But then you have perfect road surfaces and long descents to pick the speed up and make it a fast course. Some "hairy" corners though especially in the wet and the hay bails are already awaiting a few people I think. You could make the mistake of going hard on one of the big climbs early on where there is a steep 10%+ incline for a short 1km, but it then continues for the next 5kms into a headwind. So some patience is needed on the course.
Last night I completed a phone interview with Tim Moore who writes for Triathlete mag in the US and other triathlon related media foremats. The interview was mostly about the doping in triathlon, testing or lack thereof, and ways of moving forward for our sport. This is becoming more of a hot topic of late with some of the major races (eg Frankfurt and Roth Ironmans) making large efforts in testing and after a couple of major positive results occuring in the last year/s. It will be interesting to read the article when it is published. Other athletes to talk to Tim have included Chris Lieto, Faris Al Sultan, and many other prominent athletes. Again we have another cyclist testing positive, Manuel Beltran, at the Tour de France and bringing it to light in the media for all. I am looking forward to a challenging but clean race against top athletes here in Roth on Sunday.
At bike check in today I met up with Clemens Coenen, a German friend who raced in Japan with me. His fiancee is racing tommorrow and I have been told to look out for the "get going" slap on the Solarberg (the tour de france like hill where people crowd in and there is no gap in front of wou until they peel away). Nice guy, and look forward to catching up again post race for the promised beer.
Sam says the bub is growing great guns at the moment and is kicking all over the place. Probably trying to give me a boot and help me along tommorrow ;) .
The forecast is for either 8-15 degrees or 10-16degrees depending on the weather channel. What they both agree on is heavy rain for the day. This shall make the bike course a bit slower, 10mins the locals say. I like racing in the cold and wet so should suit me perfectly, especially considering the cold conditions in Sydney. I cannot wait to get out and put all my training into place during the race and be patient but focused for a good, quick result tommorrow. The main aim is a good run and everything else will fall into place.
So, I am off for my last carbo load, some tour de france tv, and reading Sams movitational cards she writes each time I take off to race. Next blog will bring my report about racing the Quelle challenge and ticking another box off my triathlon list of to do's...
Cheers,
Bevan.
Friday, 11 July 2008
Roth # 3 - Update and Link for Live Coverage
Hallo (as they say here),
The final training sessions have all gone well. Bike is in order and rego is tommorrow. I will be getting my first look at the course Friday with Matthias and Felix taking me around and offering tips on the technical bike course. We will no doubt also check out the race expo and see what new toys are about. There are some bike stalls so may have a look to see if I can organise something other than the borrowed bike at the moment for future racing. Friday is a rest day though, so there shall not be much running around on the feet and a nice sleep in.
The link to the website in english is here:
http://www.challenge-roth.com/en/index.html .
There are cameras at certain points of the course running continually (Live-Cams) plus an up to date stream on individual athletes. There is also an overall leaders play by play (Live-Ticker) and I think a continual tv stream that you can sign up for on the same page. Race day is this Sunday 13th July.
I am in the Sub 9 group/Pro's and shall be off at 6:20am German time, or 2:20pm Eastern Standard Australian time this Sunday. My race number is 348. I will be racing for the Franken Speed Fighters team and have Matthias as my aid for the special needs stations (you have to provide your own coach-trainer for the special needs drops here at Roth).
I shall write another update before the race after the rego, expo, and bike-gear check in. Am looking forward to the start line and hitting the course in good shape with a good competitive field.
Cheers,
Bevan.
The final training sessions have all gone well. Bike is in order and rego is tommorrow. I will be getting my first look at the course Friday with Matthias and Felix taking me around and offering tips on the technical bike course. We will no doubt also check out the race expo and see what new toys are about. There are some bike stalls so may have a look to see if I can organise something other than the borrowed bike at the moment for future racing. Friday is a rest day though, so there shall not be much running around on the feet and a nice sleep in.
The link to the website in english is here:
http://www.challenge-roth.com/en/index.html .
There are cameras at certain points of the course running continually (Live-Cams) plus an up to date stream on individual athletes. There is also an overall leaders play by play (Live-Ticker) and I think a continual tv stream that you can sign up for on the same page. Race day is this Sunday 13th July.
I am in the Sub 9 group/Pro's and shall be off at 6:20am German time, or 2:20pm Eastern Standard Australian time this Sunday. My race number is 348. I will be racing for the Franken Speed Fighters team and have Matthias as my aid for the special needs stations (you have to provide your own coach-trainer for the special needs drops here at Roth).
I shall write another update before the race after the rego, expo, and bike-gear check in. Am looking forward to the start line and hitting the course in good shape with a good competitive field.
Cheers,
Bevan.
Wednesday, 9 July 2008
Roth Update # 2
Güten Morgen,
Time is ticking along now until race day and the days have been turning over with the required training as prescribed by my coach. It is nice to not be able to drift along doing what training I can organise but to have this all scheduled out. This has been the best lead up to a race I have had in a long time. All things seem to be coming together nicely. I received a great message from Nick at Platypus about the race which was good to give it a check in regards to the overall picture.
Today I awoke late after stuffing up my alarm. Changing between two mobile sim cards is always a risk and I was late for the morning swim as Matthias had freaked out, in a good way, that I had not tested my wetsuit yet. Matthias took me to Birkensee, a lake with a 500m diametre in forests 20km away which they had found after running trail sessions. We had to hike in about 1.5km to the place, but it was stunning. I had to test out a wettie for the race as my personal one had been sent back to 2XU for repair only to be lost in the warranties department somewhere. So, a borrowed blue seventy helix shall be doing the job this weekend. It was pretty awesome to be the only person doing 400m efforts in this alpine lake chasing geese and trout out of the way with fir trees and utter quiet (apart from my splashing around). A good 4km set and the suit stood up well. Very impressed actually with the ease of ability to breath and shoulder stretch. Matthias took some photos of me training in the lake which I hope to put up.
Matthias has been a great help including taking me to a former German mountain bike and cyclocross champion (Felix) this afternoon to service my bike. I couldnt get the bike into the 3 small cogs for speed. Felix found a few faults that had not been picked up and the bike is now running smoother that ever. He is also a Stevens bike rep which are some pretty nice looking bikes. There are so many brands of bike here in Europe and all look good. The individual time trial at the tour de france today was paradise. Now only if I can get a hold of some of the gear somehow ;) .
Germans are inspiring for their facilities for sports. Everywhere I go in villages there are helpful things. For example, there is a parcour that is exactly 2km long of forest track about 2km from the house. This was made for training for the local teams and people to have a loop on soft ground that they can use for timed efforts. Labelled and all, utterly amazing. And you see this everywhere. I have not done a single session on the same course yet and each has been of ease navigational wise and of great safety. It certainly makes a mockery of the roads and hassles of Sydney training. I am going to enjoy this whilst I can.
Matthias took me on a hill loop yesterday on the bike that included a 2km climb that had a 18% gradient for the last km. I had asked what the famous "Solarberg" climb in Roth was like and this effort was to show me something a bit harder. This "serpentine" climb passed through a small village of cobble stones on a big slant and then finished with a hill top cherry tree orchard. It was a nice way to finish off a 2hour ride for me but poor matthias had raced to a pb in frankfurt ironman the day before. I had my first car buzzing for the period on the steep descent when a "Isetta" BMW car passed me. This car was all over the shop and I couldnt stop laughing as these cars are those little boxes with one wheel in back and two in the front and open with a single door at the car front (think Mr Bean's european car or the gogo mobile but worse). As it passed me it slewed across the cliff edge and slammed the breaks on too investigate the solar panel field next to us. I nearly smacked into the back of it gave the old guy some Aussie barbs to his dumbfounded look. Matthias and I nearly ran into a cherry tree pissing ourselves. (Germany is big on the environment and alternative energy. Petrol is 1.60 euro to the litre. That is worse than oz and equates to about $2.67 per litre. The government also rebates energy saving devices.).
Monday I had headed to the university town of Erlangen where Seimens holds court with its major design buildings. Bjorn is at school here in the Sports Sciences Sector. They are in the middle of exams so I headed to the uni 50m pool for a non neck hurting session away from a 25m pool. An in and outdoor 50m pool greeted me with a lane to myself, nice. I checked out some of the other facilities of the sports sciences faculty and it looked like I had walked into the German version of the AIS. Technology everywhere of the highest standard and outside were top notch climbing walls, athletics tracks, football grounds, you name it. Not bad at all. Plus a damn good "bakerei" for lunch :) to add to a sprezee (think i didnt get that right) which is a coke-fanta mix softdrink that is the thing to have here if you do not drink beer.
I have just been at a 15 year olds b'day dinner where I got to try some more of the healthy local cuisine many ending in würst. Well, that and a small chocholate tart for carbo loading ;) . The family is a big thing here and there is another "do" tuesday following the race for Matthias and Ines' 25th wedding anniversary. This is going to be a big family food fest with a belated beer for my birthday. Something nice to think of after the pain sunday night. I am an endless source of laughter for my dismal attempts at German pronounciation. I have been trying to build up my vocab and a few sentences. Food seems to be a good starting point and there are two sounds I just cannot get right. All in good fun though and I love trying to learn something new. Also shared a great Greek meal at a local cafe here with Bjorn and his girlfriend. She had been on a 9hr 30km pilgrimage walk for a wedding that day so the food went down well.
One other plus is the extra sleep. With no work to run off to, an extra 4 hours or so sleep a day is doing wonders for the body and recovery. I have even got Bjorn into calling his study naps a "kip", now all I have to do is convince Sam at home that they are great things and not lazing off. Although I am sure that with the bub growing and doing tumble turns, she may be having a kip or two as is deserved.
More tour de france over the next day or two and on Friday will be heading to Roth to register and go over the bike course for the techinical details. Am looking forward to the race and having a good hitout. The team uniform looks like half a black-white cow pelt with blue arms and stars on it. Stands out as we were able to see Matthias on the live television cast on Sunday from a mile. I will be in my sponsors labelled racing uniform that is a proven comfortable item though.
Tchüss,
Bevan.
Time is ticking along now until race day and the days have been turning over with the required training as prescribed by my coach. It is nice to not be able to drift along doing what training I can organise but to have this all scheduled out. This has been the best lead up to a race I have had in a long time. All things seem to be coming together nicely. I received a great message from Nick at Platypus about the race which was good to give it a check in regards to the overall picture.
Today I awoke late after stuffing up my alarm. Changing between two mobile sim cards is always a risk and I was late for the morning swim as Matthias had freaked out, in a good way, that I had not tested my wetsuit yet. Matthias took me to Birkensee, a lake with a 500m diametre in forests 20km away which they had found after running trail sessions. We had to hike in about 1.5km to the place, but it was stunning. I had to test out a wettie for the race as my personal one had been sent back to 2XU for repair only to be lost in the warranties department somewhere. So, a borrowed blue seventy helix shall be doing the job this weekend. It was pretty awesome to be the only person doing 400m efforts in this alpine lake chasing geese and trout out of the way with fir trees and utter quiet (apart from my splashing around). A good 4km set and the suit stood up well. Very impressed actually with the ease of ability to breath and shoulder stretch. Matthias took some photos of me training in the lake which I hope to put up.
Matthias has been a great help including taking me to a former German mountain bike and cyclocross champion (Felix) this afternoon to service my bike. I couldnt get the bike into the 3 small cogs for speed. Felix found a few faults that had not been picked up and the bike is now running smoother that ever. He is also a Stevens bike rep which are some pretty nice looking bikes. There are so many brands of bike here in Europe and all look good. The individual time trial at the tour de france today was paradise. Now only if I can get a hold of some of the gear somehow ;) .
Germans are inspiring for their facilities for sports. Everywhere I go in villages there are helpful things. For example, there is a parcour that is exactly 2km long of forest track about 2km from the house. This was made for training for the local teams and people to have a loop on soft ground that they can use for timed efforts. Labelled and all, utterly amazing. And you see this everywhere. I have not done a single session on the same course yet and each has been of ease navigational wise and of great safety. It certainly makes a mockery of the roads and hassles of Sydney training. I am going to enjoy this whilst I can.
Matthias took me on a hill loop yesterday on the bike that included a 2km climb that had a 18% gradient for the last km. I had asked what the famous "Solarberg" climb in Roth was like and this effort was to show me something a bit harder. This "serpentine" climb passed through a small village of cobble stones on a big slant and then finished with a hill top cherry tree orchard. It was a nice way to finish off a 2hour ride for me but poor matthias had raced to a pb in frankfurt ironman the day before. I had my first car buzzing for the period on the steep descent when a "Isetta" BMW car passed me. This car was all over the shop and I couldnt stop laughing as these cars are those little boxes with one wheel in back and two in the front and open with a single door at the car front (think Mr Bean's european car or the gogo mobile but worse). As it passed me it slewed across the cliff edge and slammed the breaks on too investigate the solar panel field next to us. I nearly smacked into the back of it gave the old guy some Aussie barbs to his dumbfounded look. Matthias and I nearly ran into a cherry tree pissing ourselves. (Germany is big on the environment and alternative energy. Petrol is 1.60 euro to the litre. That is worse than oz and equates to about $2.67 per litre. The government also rebates energy saving devices.).
Monday I had headed to the university town of Erlangen where Seimens holds court with its major design buildings. Bjorn is at school here in the Sports Sciences Sector. They are in the middle of exams so I headed to the uni 50m pool for a non neck hurting session away from a 25m pool. An in and outdoor 50m pool greeted me with a lane to myself, nice. I checked out some of the other facilities of the sports sciences faculty and it looked like I had walked into the German version of the AIS. Technology everywhere of the highest standard and outside were top notch climbing walls, athletics tracks, football grounds, you name it. Not bad at all. Plus a damn good "bakerei" for lunch :) to add to a sprezee (think i didnt get that right) which is a coke-fanta mix softdrink that is the thing to have here if you do not drink beer.
I have just been at a 15 year olds b'day dinner where I got to try some more of the healthy local cuisine many ending in würst. Well, that and a small chocholate tart for carbo loading ;) . The family is a big thing here and there is another "do" tuesday following the race for Matthias and Ines' 25th wedding anniversary. This is going to be a big family food fest with a belated beer for my birthday. Something nice to think of after the pain sunday night. I am an endless source of laughter for my dismal attempts at German pronounciation. I have been trying to build up my vocab and a few sentences. Food seems to be a good starting point and there are two sounds I just cannot get right. All in good fun though and I love trying to learn something new. Also shared a great Greek meal at a local cafe here with Bjorn and his girlfriend. She had been on a 9hr 30km pilgrimage walk for a wedding that day so the food went down well.
One other plus is the extra sleep. With no work to run off to, an extra 4 hours or so sleep a day is doing wonders for the body and recovery. I have even got Bjorn into calling his study naps a "kip", now all I have to do is convince Sam at home that they are great things and not lazing off. Although I am sure that with the bub growing and doing tumble turns, she may be having a kip or two as is deserved.
More tour de france over the next day or two and on Friday will be heading to Roth to register and go over the bike course for the techinical details. Am looking forward to the race and having a good hitout. The team uniform looks like half a black-white cow pelt with blue arms and stars on it. Stands out as we were able to see Matthias on the live television cast on Sunday from a mile. I will be in my sponsors labelled racing uniform that is a proven comfortable item though.
Tchüss,
Bevan.
Sunday, 6 July 2008
Ironman Roth - Arrived in Eckental with the Fürst Family
Hi Guys,
I have now arrived safely in Eckenhaid in Eckental near Nuremburg in Germany. It was a long 2 day voyage from Sydney through Shanghai, Beijing, Frankfurt, Nuremburg to here with zippo sleep. I will be racing at Ironman Roth for a German team called Franken Speed Fighters. My homestay is an old friend, Matthias Fürst, who is the sponsor of the team and an Ironman racer himself (in fact racing Ironman Frankfurt this weekend). I will be joining his family for two weeks for Roth and they (Ines, his wife, and Bjorn and Carlo, his two sons) have welcomed me like another son. Eckental is a town made up of 12 villages each separated by a small divide of forest in a valley. A picturesque place for sure and it is absolutely stunning with greenery and great weather (25+ degrees at the moment). Plenty of great training areas surround. It is about 15mins drive from Nuremburg and close to Roth also. Unfortunately Sam will not be joining me here as it is too hard on her travelling whilst 5 months pregnant. Sam has joked thatI am to be called "the abandoner" for a little while whilst the job here in Germany is being done. I missed the first midwife meeting friday but luckily as would happen, Ines is a midwife here so I can get the tips and I don't get in trouble :) .
On arriving, Matthias took me for a 50min run. It was great to get out after the long plane trip and see the area. I then joined the team swim session for the evening in Nuremburg and it is always fun to learn to turn the opposite way in pools again - the back will be feeling this tommorrow. Pools are just like driving cars. The euros drive on the right and so swim up the right side of the lane also. It is actually quite hard to flip turn the opposite way - try it - but something I mastered living and racing in France.
A great 11 hour sleep and I was back to normal. The loan bike was built and all ok - always a relief. Matthias and Felix (another team member) took me for a ride thorugh some of the small villages that included some hops fields for local beer brewing, some cobbled paths, a few forest paths, and some cool looking old farm houses. The architecture always amazes me when you see houses that are older than your country and it has been a generational home for 400 years. I then took a tour for another 1.5 hours to Erlangen as the other guys are racing an Ironman this weekend. I had an offer to race for the team at the Hamburg World Cup triathlon series this weekend coming but passed up to focus on Roth the following weekend. I love how there are races every weekend in Europe whereas in Oz they are few and far between in NSW.
The food here is just great. Ines made home-made pizza and special bread for dinner and it was mouthwatering AND healthy. Perfect for a long training day. Breaky is cold meats, cheeses, yoghurt, juice, coffee and after this load up it is train away for the day. Matthias was off to Frankfurt for the ironman, so Heinz (a former 2hr25 marathon runner) took me on some bike tours in the region for an hour. I then did the extra training hours including efforts and had no car episodes at all. A bit different to the daily car check in Sydney. Training here is SO good. I always fall in love with Europe each time I come back with the ease and beauty of training and the respect triathletes get here. An hour run in the heat followed by a train trip to Nuremburg for a 4km swim set finished the training day. With the day in excess of 28 degrees, my winter skin got burnt, so time for the "sonnen milch" tommorrow. Will be nice to get some colour again so I do not get lobstered at Roth.
Another great thing is that the Tour de France is live during the day. Rather than jumping on the windtrainer in Sydney in the middle of the night to watch and provide endless laughs for my partner Sam, it is great to organise training around the interesting stage parts and end sprint each day. That and eurosport 1 & 2 and I am in heaven.
On Sunday is Ironman Frankfurt and I will be watching in between training to see how Cameron Brown goes and also Matthias, Felix, and the other Franken Speed Fighters Triathlon team guys. Sounds like perfect weather and wind, so should be a fast day. Two great things about Frankfurt Ironman is they are taking blood from each Professional before the race to check for doping (eg epo) and that the whole race is live on normal television for the whole day! Good that it is not just the top 3 guys being tested. Roth also has stringent doping rules which is great for the athletes and also the sport. Fantastic for the sport to have live telecasts all day long, no chance that happening in Australia. So I will be in front of the tv Sunday between my training hours watching the Ironman and Tour de France, how good is that!
Tchuss,
Bevan.
I have now arrived safely in Eckenhaid in Eckental near Nuremburg in Germany. It was a long 2 day voyage from Sydney through Shanghai, Beijing, Frankfurt, Nuremburg to here with zippo sleep. I will be racing at Ironman Roth for a German team called Franken Speed Fighters. My homestay is an old friend, Matthias Fürst, who is the sponsor of the team and an Ironman racer himself (in fact racing Ironman Frankfurt this weekend). I will be joining his family for two weeks for Roth and they (Ines, his wife, and Bjorn and Carlo, his two sons) have welcomed me like another son. Eckental is a town made up of 12 villages each separated by a small divide of forest in a valley. A picturesque place for sure and it is absolutely stunning with greenery and great weather (25+ degrees at the moment). Plenty of great training areas surround. It is about 15mins drive from Nuremburg and close to Roth also. Unfortunately Sam will not be joining me here as it is too hard on her travelling whilst 5 months pregnant. Sam has joked thatI am to be called "the abandoner" for a little while whilst the job here in Germany is being done. I missed the first midwife meeting friday but luckily as would happen, Ines is a midwife here so I can get the tips and I don't get in trouble :) .
On arriving, Matthias took me for a 50min run. It was great to get out after the long plane trip and see the area. I then joined the team swim session for the evening in Nuremburg and it is always fun to learn to turn the opposite way in pools again - the back will be feeling this tommorrow. Pools are just like driving cars. The euros drive on the right and so swim up the right side of the lane also. It is actually quite hard to flip turn the opposite way - try it - but something I mastered living and racing in France.
A great 11 hour sleep and I was back to normal. The loan bike was built and all ok - always a relief. Matthias and Felix (another team member) took me for a ride thorugh some of the small villages that included some hops fields for local beer brewing, some cobbled paths, a few forest paths, and some cool looking old farm houses. The architecture always amazes me when you see houses that are older than your country and it has been a generational home for 400 years. I then took a tour for another 1.5 hours to Erlangen as the other guys are racing an Ironman this weekend. I had an offer to race for the team at the Hamburg World Cup triathlon series this weekend coming but passed up to focus on Roth the following weekend. I love how there are races every weekend in Europe whereas in Oz they are few and far between in NSW.
The food here is just great. Ines made home-made pizza and special bread for dinner and it was mouthwatering AND healthy. Perfect for a long training day. Breaky is cold meats, cheeses, yoghurt, juice, coffee and after this load up it is train away for the day. Matthias was off to Frankfurt for the ironman, so Heinz (a former 2hr25 marathon runner) took me on some bike tours in the region for an hour. I then did the extra training hours including efforts and had no car episodes at all. A bit different to the daily car check in Sydney. Training here is SO good. I always fall in love with Europe each time I come back with the ease and beauty of training and the respect triathletes get here. An hour run in the heat followed by a train trip to Nuremburg for a 4km swim set finished the training day. With the day in excess of 28 degrees, my winter skin got burnt, so time for the "sonnen milch" tommorrow. Will be nice to get some colour again so I do not get lobstered at Roth.
Another great thing is that the Tour de France is live during the day. Rather than jumping on the windtrainer in Sydney in the middle of the night to watch and provide endless laughs for my partner Sam, it is great to organise training around the interesting stage parts and end sprint each day. That and eurosport 1 & 2 and I am in heaven.
On Sunday is Ironman Frankfurt and I will be watching in between training to see how Cameron Brown goes and also Matthias, Felix, and the other Franken Speed Fighters Triathlon team guys. Sounds like perfect weather and wind, so should be a fast day. Two great things about Frankfurt Ironman is they are taking blood from each Professional before the race to check for doping (eg epo) and that the whole race is live on normal television for the whole day! Good that it is not just the top 3 guys being tested. Roth also has stringent doping rules which is great for the athletes and also the sport. Fantastic for the sport to have live telecasts all day long, no chance that happening in Australia. So I will be in front of the tv Sunday between my training hours watching the Ironman and Tour de France, how good is that!
Tchuss,
Bevan.
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