Big Jo training Jan 17 - Jan 23

SWIM

Squad x 1 (+ 1 x attempted squad)
Non-squad x 3
Sea swim x 2

~14.5km

What a big week of swimming that was. We decided to make our comeback to Parnell squad on Monday only to find the pool a wee bit empty after a pool maintenance failure. Its a pretty deep pool so we could have still swum but I think I may have struggled to get out again and the dive in would have been a very long way down.  So we tried Youthtown where we knew our other peeps would be, this was fine until a canoodling couple crashed my lane. My lane was actually only half width so really only Jo-size and they didn't get the memo that I was actually swimming in there and not pissing around like them. But after a few closely executed tumble turns and "accidental" knocks with my paddles, I had the lane to myself. Am I a bad person?...

BIKE

Time:
Distance:

A pretty good week on the bike despite missing a ride on Sunday due to some pretty heinous weather. Sunday was never going to be much of a bike day because I did Tour de Ranges plus some on Saturday as my long ride.
Tour de Ranges is a 110km "fun" ride around the Hunua ranges and back along the Auckland Half/old IMNZ course. Last year I double flatted and ran out of tubes and only made about 30km so I was hoping to actually finish this time.  This year they had a separate Elite male and female starts which was way better because last year everyone went a little silly at the start trying to keep up with the big boys. I managed to stick with what started out as the second bunch the whole way round and come in as first of the non-elite girls. It wasn't particualary easy though, I had to work pretty hard on the downhills and corners. Uphill was fine, I even made it to the front of the bunch up the hills a few times, which was good to get me a head start on the downhills.  So it was a pretty solid 3hr effort, special mention should go to Shaun Jacka of Piako Yoghurt fame who helped me out a little bit and made sure I didn't get dropped.
I then rode home from Clevedon to make it a bit over 140km, luckily I had a tailwind most of the way home.

Not quite my best look but at least we know I was there

RUN

Time: 2hrs 12
Distance: ~28km

With TDR on my long run day I had to shuffle things around a bit and do my long run (80mins!) during the week but no dramas there. Had a bit of a shock to the system with my first Stroke and Stride in about 2years. It was 1000m swim/3km run so a good short run for me to start with. It was pretty hideous and my pre-race banana smoothie was not a good snack choice. I managed to run my way up to 14th place with an untied shoelace but my internal organs were starting to revolt against me.  My usual S&S markers beat me so not a great start but its not like I been doing anything as intense as that so it was good training.

I was planning on just wearing togs but then remembered my hideous tanlines. So instead it looks like my trisuit has a white band around the legs

IN OTHER EXCITING NEWS

I entered Ironman NZ - yay!

Big Jo training Jan 10 - Jan 16

SWIM

Non-squad x 2
Sea swim x 1

~9km

A little bit light in the swimming department. I really should be concentrating on my swim a bit more I guess but I just feel a bit useless. I'm not sure if swimming more is the answer to swimming faster, I've tried this in the past and it hasn't made much of a difference. I've tried doing drills and that never really helped and recently I've been doing the PB and band thing and that doesn't seem to help either so I'm a little bit stuck.
Help.
All I want is to be able to swim 60mins or less for 3.8km, thats all I ask. So if anyone has any secret to fast swimming please let me know.
I forked out for a new pair of paddles after the mysterious disappearance of my left paddle in the Newmarket Spa Triangle but (like anything new) I don't like them as much as my old ones. They have too many holes in them... but the straps are more adjustable so I can use them with less support which should be better for my technique.

BIKE

Time: 11hrs07
Distance: 294km

Didn't do much during the week with a bit of Tauranga recovery happening but managed a solid TT effort on Saturday and a bit under 4.5hrs in the weekend.  I hadn't done anything even close to 4hrs since early in December but I seemed to cope pretty well with it.

RUN

Time: 1hr37
Distance: ~19.5km

I had until Thursday off running after the Half just to make sure everything was still intact which it all seems to be luckily.  The Thursday run felt a bit stiff but the weekend run was better and I managed 61mins in the heat of the days so that was all good. My long Sunday ride is usually followed by a 20-30min run with a fairly leisurely transition in between (up to an hour sometimes...) so the new goal is to have a snappy transition and get out there within 10mins of coming off the bike. Mostly just to get it over and done with really, I have to report that my legs didn't really feel any worse running sooner off the bike than what I normally would do so I guess that is good news for my leggies.

IN OTHER EXCITING NEWS:


I can send photos from my phone to my new laptop via Bluetooth - wow.

My vege garden is looking super duper

Chives, tomatoes, lettuce, brocolli, cabbage, basil, beans, cucumber, beetroot

My watermelon plant is threatening to wrap itself around the deck

Murfy is getting a bit hot in the summer heat 

Hello Murf

TAURANGA HALF IRONMAN RACE REPORT

PRE-RACE

So as stated in my other blogs, I was going into Tauranga Half seriously underdone in the running department due to a hip stress fracture so the plan was to take the run pretty easy, walk the aid stations and basically just see how it went.

SWIM

My swimming hasn't been going particularly swimmingly since the Teps closed but I thought things were going a bit better recently - apparently not. I managed to keep up with the tail end of the Pro field for a while but was pretty much on my own after about 300m and then got engulfed by the age-group men after about 400m who started 2mins behind... There were heaps of teeny-tiny jellyfish which felt pretty gross but I didn't see any big ones and apparently there was a shark spotted in the bay while we were swimming - awesome.  Came out of the water in 34mins which seems to be my new norm. In 2009 I swam 31something, if only I could get back to that level... As usual RooRoo was all lonely as the only bike left on the Pro racks...

BIKE

Tauranga Half is known as a bit of draft-fest with huge packs that form mostly with age-group men.  After about 5km I had a couple of boyfriends which I picked up or they picked up me, and by 10km there about 20 of us.  The pack just grew and grew and was a bit ridiculous with people riding two abreast and freewheeling.  I tried to stay at the back so I could keep a bit of distance but it was hard and I did find myself a tad close at times, and one of those times a marshal happened to pop up next to me and blew his little whistle and showed me a yellow card. Whoopsies!! I think I must have been at least 4m from the back of the guy in fronts rear wheel which is just slightly inside the draft zone, I certainly wasn't right up his bum like some people were riding.  They then gave one penalty out to a guy in the bunch and that was it, which pissed me off a bit because there were a lot of people who were way closer than me. So I served my time in the naughty corner and then continued on my way for the last 25km.

Drafting much?

Too be honest I wasn't really too concerned about the penalty since I knew it wasn't going to be a great race for me anyway and I had a nice chat to the volunteers who where working the naughty corner.  One of our friends also got a drafting penalty and he said the guys who were serving their time were mouthing off at the volunteers which is so unfair on them, they had nothing to do with it. Hopefully they followed the rule of the clock starts when the mouth stops.
Anyway I came off the bike in a couple of minutes faster than last year in 2hrs27 + 3mins in the naughty corner.
My power wasn't too bad for a flat course so I was still working reasonably hard even with the group and wasn't just coasting along.

RUN

This was to be my moment of truth. I started out nice and easy and the leggies felt ok. I kept to my rule of walking the aid stations, I didn't feel like I needed to but it was nice knowing that I was allowed. I got passed by a few people including girls, which is not something I am used to on the run, but I managed to deal with it.  At the half way mark I was 52mins something so nice and steady 5min/kms, everything seemed to feeling alright, leggies were getting a bit tired but no pain.  The second lap was pretty much the same, I knew heaps of people racing and spectating so it was always nice to see a familiar face. Once I got off the mount for the second time and had 1km to go I cranked it up a bit to about the pace I should have run and finished on a strong note in 1hr45 - perfect pacing!! The highlight of the run was seeing my sports physician Tony Edwards who said I wouldn't be racing at Tauranga, he was surprised to see me.
Total time was 4hrs53 which is actually a PB for me but had I been fit I should have been at least 10mins quicker.

How I am supposed to look when I run

 NEWS FROM THE TEAM:


J-rad lost the Bowden family battle after letting Davo get away on the bike, Neilio rode well to make up for his detonation last year, Nick got a bit closer to the Bowdens than their liking but the biggest props go to Jess for wining her AG, being the fastest local and having the fastest bike and run times for AG women - look out IMNZ!!

I have some ouchies from my race belt. Ouch.

Since I was in Tauranga I went and visited my former love Cosmo:

Hello Cosmo

Big Jo training Jan 3 - Jan 9

SWIM

3 x sea swims
1 x pool swim

A bit more quality time in the new Muppet suit this week plus a little bit of a pootle in the pool the day before the Half.  Not sure when squad starts back but hopefully its soon because, as I discovered at Tauranga, my swim is seriously suffering.
I had an odd incident at Newmarket pool the other day where I dropped my little pile of swim condiments (PB, paddles and band) into the spa and one of my paddles disappeared forever. We searched the whole spa including the filters and couldn't find it.  How weird is that. So now I only have one paddle which is not really ideal.

BIKE

I haven't added up my time and distance for the week but think it will be a bit on the low side with the Half yesterday.  Had a pretty solid 1hr45min effort around Whitford and Maraetai the Tuesday before the race which was good race prep. I had a boyfriend moment with an annoying commuter on my ride home from work on Wednesday, he obviously had issues about being passed by a girl.

Check out my tanlines. Not as good as Murphy's though

RUN

Only did a couple of short runs leading up to Tauranga but didn't have any hip issues so all was looking good.  Had a bit of a hit out off the bike(ish) after our Maraetai efforts and the leggies handled it pretty well which gave me a bit of hope for the weekend...

IN OTHER EXCITING NEWS:

I got a sexy new laptop

 

Big Jo training Dec 20 - Jan 2

SWIM

Well it has been an exciting time in my swimming world with the arrival of my Helix Muppet Suit on Christmas eve. I have been for two swims in it so far and it is awesome, the arms are super thin and very comfortable so hopefully it will make me swim super fast at Tauranga in the weekend. As I was about to write my name in it this morning I noticed a special little addition which nobody else has:

I feel so special

For anyone (out of my 2 readers...) that's interested, the whole Muppet Suit thing came about when I got measured up for my custom suit and Davo (who thought he was being funny) put my name on the form as Little Muppet. I sent it off to Blue Seventy and hadn't corrected it since they knew who I was. A few weeks went by and I decided to check up on the progress and the people in the factory came back saying they had no record of a suit for Jo Carrel. So after a bit of panic and resending the measurements they said they had finished Muppet's suit and it was ready to go to send to Muppet. So once that got cleared up my suits will always be referred to as Muppet Suits and now they have even named it for me - perfect!

Swimming over the last two weeks has been a mixture of pool and sea and I think I have been reasonably good at getting some decent sessions in. We had a couple of days at the Cambridge Training Camp so did a 3.8km set in the pool there, I am a bit of a wuss so wore the Muppet Suit and was able to hold the same interval as the big boys so it must be fast...

BIKE

The last 2 weeks I have averaged around 12.5hrs and about 350km on the bike with some serious time in the hurt box. We had a few days at the Cook's Beach Training Camp so got to do a few rides around Coromandel as well as a solid 2hr effort at the Cambridge Training Camp.

J-Rad dominating the Tairua hill

RUN

So after another week off running I have crept back into a little bit of running without any issues. I have got up to 60mins as 3x20mins with a couple of minutes of walking in between, yay! Fitness-wise I seem to be ok but think I will struggle with much over an hour, I guess we will find out in the weekend... So I am heading into Tauranga Half Ironman with basically 2 weeks of running under my belt - not exactly ideal. But its either that or not run at all which is not really appealing. It is a 2 lap course so if I die from unfitness or start to get hip pain in the first lap I can always pull out. I think I just have to start out really, really slowly and rely on some running muscle memory. I will walk the aid stations so I get a bit of a rest every couple of km's and will just have to hope for the best.

Recovery time at Camp Cambridge. No-one is sucking in here...

So this weekend is the Tauranga Half Ironman but without running properly its really going to be a half-arsed effort for me. There is quite a competitive women's field with heaps of Aussie girls coming over for it but I'm not too concerned about it, I just want to have a good swim (make up for last year...) and good bike and then try and not embarrass myself too much on the run.  My dear friend Neilio is looking for a big hit out on the bike this year after blowing up spectacularly last year so all eyes will be on him.

No Paulio this year but Neilio will be looking for redemption

 

Big Jo training Dec 13 - Dec 19

SWIM

Squad x 3
Sea swim x 1
~9km

Nothing wildly exciting to report on this week.  I did a 1500m TT at Parnell Baths in my wetsuit and came out with an ok time with my one-pace. I was at Cook's Beach for the weekend so did a sea swim there which was a bit choppy but nice. And the only time in the weekend that it wasn't raining - how ironic. Full points to Lesbo for letting me waking her up so she could do my wetsuit up for me after a big night out at Jac's wedding. Poor Lesley's little hands hadn't woken up properly so it was quite an effort for her but I fed her with chocolates so hopefully it was marginally worthwhile.

BIKE

Time:
Distance:

Good week on the bike this week. Got my A into G and did some short intervals and got some power PB's woo hoo! And then didn't need to do any efforts on Thursday as holding Uncle Roy's wheel in the gale force winds was hard enough.
My weekend in the Coromandel was a training weekend disguised as a wedding weekend (cunning I know...), sadly the weather was absolutely poo for riding (and for a wedding) but I came prepared and luckily it wasn't cold which is fatal for me combined with the wet. So I did semi-decent ride on Saturday and then good ride on Sunday from Hahei to Kopu on the way home. I was a bit concerned about the road being a bit busy and people not seeing me but am happy to report that the drivers were super courteous and no-one abused me or tried to kill me. It rained the whole way but I was actually pretty happy in my riding apart from the winding downhills with my failing brakes where I was struggling to find my happy place. I got a bit cold once I was soaked through on the downhills but I knew I was almost there by that stage. Some kind man stopped at the top of the hill and asked if I wanted a ride because the weather was so yuck. Bless him. I guess people find it difficult to understand that we do these things for fun, but we do.

RUN

Not quite sure what to do with the running. I did 2x15mins and 1x20mins mostly on grass and while I wouldn't call it painful it certainly wasn't the same as the other side so I'm feeling at a bit of a loss. I know my tibia look a few weeks of running to feel right, but I'd had 4 months off running for that so that was understandable whereas this one I have only had 5 weeks off running. I don't feel like I've aggravated it at all but I don't want to be jumping the gun on it and making it worse down the track.
I think I have decided to have another week off and then give it another go. Tauranga is looking very shaky at this stage... BAH!

How to keep me entertained during boring wedding speeches while waiting for food...

The lovely couple Jac and Tony and the Brownie Cake nom nom nom

Big Jo training Dec 6 - Dec 12

SWIM

Squad x 3
Sea swim x 1
~12km

Did 3 good squad sessions at Parnell Baths this week. Unfortunately me and my old Orca wetsuit did not really become friends this week as it gave me a wicked rash at the back of my neck. Hopefully my special new Blue Seventy Helix Muppet Suit will be made soon so I can wear my original Muppet Helix in the pool. I was in Taupo for the Half Ironman in the weekend and had good intentions of going for a swim while the others were out on the bike but the weather was a bit yuck and it just looked so cold and uninviting... I figured my time was better spent doing a longer ride. Did my Thursday Haydn sea swim in my usual slow time. The tide was a bit low and there were some pretty nasty oyster rocks which were hard to see so I had some pretty bad ouchies on my feet after that.

BIKE

Time: 9hrs 43
Distance: 229km

I have fallen into the trap of thinking I have raced because I was spectating a race in the weekend and therefore thinking I am in recovery mode the following week. Very Bad. I have also lost about 2hrs per week of commuting which I need to make up somewhere else. My long ride was lost this weekend with the half but I did get a decent ride around French Pass in Cambridge on Sunday and while I was in Taupo I did a ride over the new bypass which goes around the back of Taupo.

A new route in Taupo. How exciting

My RooRoo's lever issue is being resolved (after a few days of me realizing it wasn't going to reattach itself...) but until then my Serottica and I are getting reacquainted.

RUN

The big news for the week is I went for run!! Woo hoo!! On the grass I did 4x1min, 1x2mins, 1x3mins all with 30sec of walking in between. There was the odd whisper of pain but nothing at the end or any aching afterwards, so perhaps more psychosomatic... So I will continue to do interval jogs on the grass for the next week just to make sure all is a-ok. I am also going to need to look at my running style (I'm not called Slappy-J for nothing) and need to try and tone down how much lift I get to reduce the amount of load on my poor little bones.

TAUPO HALF IRONMAN

I was supporting the usual Bowden and Lawson suspects for this as well as Jess's brother Sam who was doing his first half in preparation for IMNZ.  J-Rad had a good swim coming out in the Terenzo group with Davo 2mins down and Jess beating her husband out.  Jess had some bad luck with a puncture in T1 which took a long time to fix, which was crap because she would have been close to the top 3 (and $$...) without it.  J-Rad had the ride of his life (until he popped with 30km to go) and Davo blew his foofoo valve trying to catch him. Across the board run times were a bit slower than usual but Jess took the fastest run split of the team and Sam tootled along to get the job done.

Captain Poobum. Could be mistaken for a pout but he's telling me that he's popped

J-rad happy in his running...

Nick with his game face on