Back to the hills

The past four years, the end of March has meant Melbourne Ironman. In its inaugural year I worked the aide station at the 28km mark of the marathon for 13 hours, the following three years I competed in the race (never once spending more time on course than that first year) and had entered the race again for 2016 less than 24 hours after crossing the finish line.

Now that the race has been canned the plans have changed, my season is still building to a full Ironman race but we're travelling interstate for it this time, heading over the border to Port Macquarie. The change of venue also means my training peak will be shifted back six weeks, March 20 is now the date for the Warrnambool Sufferfest (where I'll compete for the fourth time and chase an outside chance of the Triple Crown!) and Ironman Australia will be held on the 3rd of May.

Our training programs are always mapped out with the target races in mind and periodised with strength work being the early foundation. Now that we are effectively a month and a half earlier in the season's build we are also taking this opportunity to move back into the hills to add more to that foundation. 

After a month or so on the fast and flat Beach road, I was keen for the hitout to see if the legs still had it. The ride on my program was scheduled as 100km with a 6/7km climb and I was meeting the crew for a 6am rollout so I retired early and set the alarm in preparation.

At least, that's what I thought I had done.

Waking at 5:38am on the couch beside my silent phone suggested otherwise. Seems that, whilst I meant to set the alarm on my phone (and was pretty sure it had already been done because it's one of my usual early starts) I had instead just crashed on the couch.

New plan,

There was no time to get the meeting point by 6am but, I could get close and and then catch up.

Out of "bed", dressed and ready to roll in record time I headed out and hit the point where my commute intersected with the ride route a few minutes after the time I estimated the group was due to pass through. There was no one in sight but I figured they must be close so I turned toward the Dandenongs and searched the road ahead for bike taillights and behind for blinking headlights trying to work out if I was chasing the group or if they'd been delayed.

Two hours into the ride I still hadn't seen another cyclist on my heading so I figured I must have been later than I'd thought so just settled into a solo raid into the "Nongs"

Up the Devil's Elbows tapping out a tempo of 55rpm with the power meter hovering in the low to mid 300s I was doing OK. Looking at my heart rate though, I was getting close to my limit as II quickly reached, then passed through 160bpm.

Devil's is probably half the distance I was scheduled to climb and, at the top there is a decision point, continue straight for some rolling hills on the way to the top of the "1 in 20" climb or, turn left to prolong the effort on the "One tree hill" ascent. As I approached it I made the call to go straight, this was my return to the hills and I was coming off the back of a pretty hefty race program. Best policy was obviously to ease back in afterall. Crossing the intersection I ran back through the plan for the day in my head, 100km with a 6 to 7km climb. Looking down at my wrist I spied my Ironman Melbourne race number band (yes, I'm still wearing it) and I thought to myself, "this is the road to Kona"

I signalled and quickly turned left.

Over One tree I looped back to descend the Elbows and head for home with the job done, and that's when I found them. The group that I had been chasing all morning. Stopped at the same intersection but heading in opposing directions. I guess they left later than I had thought...

Flat number 2

I declined to offer to join them, instead sticking to the program and continued home... for a few hundred meters. My first flat tire for ages! 

Located the puncture and patched it with one of my special repair stickers and was on the road again just grateful I hadn't punctured coming down that mountain road 5 minutes earlier.

There were 30 km left to ride to fulfil my training goal for the day, I managed a further two and a half before I was again sidelined with a rear tire flat.

The sticker was still holding firm and the source of this new leak was more elusive so I resorted to replacing it instead and crossed my fingers that, whatever had been causing the problems was thwarted by new rubber (I had checked the inside of the tire and rim and couldn't find any sign of the culprit)

Fortunately, I bucked the trend of things coming in threes and arrived home without further incident.

Tomorrow there is a long run scheduled but we are hitting the road early to support some team mates racing in the Ballarat 70.3 event then returning in time for the team's Christmas do. Guess I'll be completing an evening run, it is another step on the road to Kona