10 Weeks in Brisbane
Back in December my plan for 2015 was set in my mind. I would finish my Masters degree in April, do some work experience and maybe travel until the start of second semester and then resume studies, either doing a PhD or another masters (in Journalism)…all in Melbourne. I was 74kgs (I’, 66-67kg now) had swum 3ks in three months, and was seemingly content with a sedentary/moderatley-unhealthy lifestyle; how quickly plans can change!
A long-story plus two races later (Devonport in February and Mooloolaba in mid-March) I found myself in a share-house 150m away from my new squads training base in Carina, Brisbane: the Clem Jones Centre. On one hand uprooting myself from Melbourne and joining a new squad (I have only ever been with EnduranceTeam) appeared a massive move; however, with former training-partners (let alone good friends) Sarah Lester and Nick Mcguire, plus Sascha Bondarenko who I swam with in 2013 already up there, the move couldn’t have been an easier process all things considered.
In the interests of brevity and readability I have written everything in dot-points:
- The Share House
Rule number one for me when moving up north was to find a house as close as possible to the centre. Within an hour of searching at flatmates.com.au I had committed to a share house only a ‘one-song walk’ away from the centre. By pure chance the lease expired on the same week I would be heading to Europe. I shared the house with two girls, Mandy a 36yo divorcee/banker/amatuer guitarist/lover of red-rooster and Mary a 29yo Kiwi/Rugby fanatic.
It's funny the things you appreciate when away from home. For reasons unknown, my mum has a visceral hatred of glad-wrap, non-stick frypans and especially microwaves. As weird as it sounds, it was so nice a) not spending 10 minutes cooking my porridge, b) not spending another 10 minutes trying to scrape the remnants out of the pot c) wrapping up my food in glad-wrap not brown paper. We once got a microwave at the farm, only for mum to 'lose it.'
It's funny the things you appreciate when away from home. For reasons unknown, my mum has a visceral hatred of glad-wrap, non-stick frypans and especially microwaves. As weird as it sounds, it was so nice a) not spending 10 minutes cooking my porridge, b) not spending another 10 minutes trying to scrape the remnants out of the pot c) wrapping up my food in glad-wrap not brown paper. We once got a microwave at the farm, only for mum to 'lose it.'
One downer though was near the end, when things got a little bit awkward when one of my housemates rescinded her offer to move in with her post-Europe (a full 50m down the road) as she decided that she’d actually prefer to live with the other housemate.
2. Training
In short- very different! Over the last three years, outside of swimming 80% of my sessions (and practically all my runs) would be solo. So doing all our sessions as a group was a big change, fortunately we all get along extremely well, let alone having the benefits of having people pushing you in every session (or just as important, telling you to slow down on the easy runs).
The step up in volume and really professionalism (this is no poor reflection on my old squad, rather unlike that, everyone in the ‘Pro Squad,’ was that- a full-time triathlete with no other distractions) was huge. Easy training is done very easy- our easy runs are around 5.20min/k pace as opposed to my usual 4.40’s. Considering there are 3 days a week when we have 2x1hr runs, my legs (i.e. calves) appreciated that. Post-Phillipines swimming has been a major focus.
With no racing to distract us, May ended up being the hardest month of training I've ever done. Rest days, whilst welcome are feared for what will follow :-) Highlighting this, I had two days out of the water, indeed I was just shy of cracking 40ks in the pool on the first week, and that was still with 293ks on the bike and 86ks running. There is no one session that is 'brutal' per se, rather the training is a steady and consistent accumulation of load that creeps up on you.
I am looking forward to putting the hard-work into action in June, with three races this month (all in different countries)
The step up in volume and really professionalism (this is no poor reflection on my old squad, rather unlike that, everyone in the ‘Pro Squad,’ was that- a full-time triathlete with no other distractions) was huge. Easy training is done very easy- our easy runs are around 5.20min/k pace as opposed to my usual 4.40’s. Considering there are 3 days a week when we have 2x1hr runs, my legs (i.e. calves) appreciated that. Post-Phillipines swimming has been a major focus.
With no racing to distract us, May ended up being the hardest month of training I've ever done. Rest days, whilst welcome are feared for what will follow :-) Highlighting this, I had two days out of the water, indeed I was just shy of cracking 40ks in the pool on the first week, and that was still with 293ks on the bike and 86ks running. There is no one session that is 'brutal' per se, rather the training is a steady and consistent accumulation of load that creeps up on you.
I am looking forward to putting the hard-work into action in June, with three races this month (all in different countries)
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| The one (and probably only) time I let Coach Waz (who's also a physio) have a go at 'releasing' my calves. Agony would be a massive understatement. I w |
3. Coffee
I think it says a lot about our squad, that after spending the morning (frequently 3-4hrs worth) together, the first thing we do is go and have breakfast/coffee together. Backstreet Espresso makes up for it’s average long-blacks with ridiculously friendly service; especially like it when one of the baristas forgot my name and I got two free coffees as an apology! Jacu Espresso has the best long-blacks (#blackcoffeeonly- yes it’s a thing :-) even though everyone else is either latte or macchiato drinkers) in Brisbane.
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| Our bikes lined up in-front of Backstreet Espresso |
4. The Weather
Triathletes are a bit like farmers- we actually enjoy talking about the weather! As a heavy sweater (like really heavy) the summer months were not appreciated. I’d get out of the car and would find my whole top sticking to me- to stave off embarrassment, do not wear light coloured casual tops! As the weather turned to ‘winter’ (by Queensland standards, which means late summer by Melbourne standards) the threat of unintended sweat stains abated (somewhat). It’s actually the best time of year in Qld, as whilst it might be cold in the morning, there is almost never a cloud in the sky. Coming back to Melbourne this week makes me realise how spoilt I was up there, and how soft I’ve become now (writing this with four layers on).
5. New Bikes: My trusty 2009 model Specialized Transition has been by my side ever since I picked it up in 2010 on the way to the Doctors; tests at the doctors showed I had glandular fever so I couldn’t ride the bike for two months. Similarly I’ve had the same model road bike since 2011, whilst both bikes have been amazing it was time for an upgrade. After quite a lengthy/complicated process, I was lucky enough to be able to throw my leg over two Scott Bikes: the Plasma 4 Time Trial and the Addict Team Edition. The first feels fast and stiff, and most importantly looks fast :-) I’ve never really enjoyed riding TT bikes outside of races, this will definitely change now. In regards to the road bike, the first impression is LIGHT!! Indeed the frame, fork and wheels alone are 500g lighter than my older bike. Weight mightn’t make that much of a difference in terms of pure speed, but it makes for a much livelier ride. In one word this bike is ‘snappy.’ Also riding an electronic groupset is simply mindblowing! Shifting is always perfect, there is no lag, no issue with changing into bad combinations of gears, or doing so under load. Most importantly it looks good! I love the bright colour combination, it definitely sticks out in the sea of matte black bikes.
(Both bikes had test saddles and the road bike had a stem 2cm too short when pictured)
6. Brisbane Awards:
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| He had TWO of these |
Most impressive moustache: A few of us decided to cultivate moustaches. Whereas the rest of us fell by the wayside (I shaved mine before boarding the flight to the Philippines, I didn’t want to risk a strip search. Ron was told by his mother that he looked like Hitler, which as a Jew is definitely not a good thing, and thus his was gone within a week), Nick Mcguire has proceeded doggedly on, in spite of its increasingly ginger tint and his appearance now resembling an teenage Mexican drug dealer, or those guys from Ocean’s 13 who impersonate Mexican factory workers.
Best person to go to a movie with: A drugged up (painkillers post shattering his collarbone at Auckland WTS) Ron Darmon is the ideal movie companion. When the cashier made one small mistake with someones movie ticket, he demanded we all got in free. As the cashier was to find out, it’s pretty hard to say no to an injured/semi-functioning (on account of the cocktail of painkillers) blonde-headed Isreali
Least favourite session: It says a lot about Brisbane that a public pool can go months without needing any heat. Unfortunately for me, this went a little too long through March for my bodies liking- I’m as competent as dealing with cold water as I am singing- deplorable. I spent all of 2013 swimming in a pool that was 30c, and the Bond Uni pool of 2014 was comfortably warm. A couple of those early weeks in Brisbane pre-pool heating were insufferable. You know you are cold when your teeth are chattering during a main set! Just to rub salt in the wound, everyone else was fine.
If I can sprint as fast in training/end of a race as I can from the pool to the hot shower- I will be a happy man!
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| Ice Baths after cold swims :-( |
Favourite Session: There is something about the Saturday evening run that I love. I am not sure if its the idea of doing something that I love, which is also ‘wholesome,’ whilst others prepare, or are settling into a night of heavy drinking. We generally finish with the sun setting over the pool- it’s stunning.
Specifically I had a hard solo session of a 60min run with 4x4mins (2min jog reco) at 5k pace, with the first and last 2mins of the whole set slightly faster than 5k pace (to mimic racing). First it was so nice to run hard again, even before Philippines I only had one truly ‘hard’ run, on account of being cautious with the calves and sickness ruling me out of two key 10x1k sessions. Second, there was something really atmospheric giving myself a good flogging around a park, with the sun setting dodging people walking their dogs; it kinda reminded me of that Jan Frodeno training day video where he is doing a track set with at dusk (obviously I was running A LOT slower).
7.Onwards to Europe (actually I am already in Europe, but I needed some jet lag-induced insomnia to provide the necessary time to finish this post)
On the 31st I leave Australia for just shy of four months, three based in Vittoria-Gastiez in northern Spain, and then a few weeks in Canada. At this stage my race program has me competing in Mauritius (June 7) and Bulgaria (Burgas June 21) with planned races in Latvia, Estonia, Spain, Czech Republic and Canada. Excited is an understatement!!!
I am less excited about the prospect of lugging two bikes around the world. Indeed my first week of travel my flights are:
1.Melbourne-Dubai
2.Dubai-London
3.London-Bilbao
Three Days in Vittoria
4. Bilbao-London
5. London-Mauritius
Four days in Mauritius for the race
6. Mauritius-London
7. London-Bilbao
I’ve loaded up the iPad with movies, invested in a pair of soundproof headphones (i.e. my ‘f-off headphones!’ I am an antisocial flyer) and a Qantas Club Membership.
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| Best travel investment |
Looking forward to the next few months, till then :-)
