So October was a solid month and continuing on from the September re-framing and re-focusing on my goals. I continued to manage and try to rehab my lower leg injuries, reasonably well, but at the same time reasonalby unsuccessfully. I did my best and managed to still compete in both races I had booked in, but was less than satisfied with my running ability at these events. I had regular physiotherapy, needling and plenty of self massage, but it just wouldn’t settle! Toward the end of the month I made a decision to stop running altogether and see if I could get it pain-free before Noosa Tri. A full report on Noosa in another blog (stay tuned)! In my mind this was a pretty risky strategy given I am only about 4/5 weeks out from my next Ironman, but managing the pain was not working! So I upped the bike & swim to compensate and all I can do now is wait and hope on my next run it feels better!
As a club Starfish is continue on from our strong performance in 2016 and started well in season 2017, with Round 2 of the QTS race and Round 1 of the Bribie series! Our squad is growing and the atmosphere is super friendly, rewarding and a real pleasure to be a part of! If you are looking for an environment that can draw the best out of yourself and improve your life, come on down and join us, we offer program from absolute beginner novices through the 4 time Ironman programs! It’s the perfect place and group to find your ‘TRISTYLE’.
So let’s not waste any more time, grab a coffee and stop for a quick moment to reflect and review my September training activities. This is all about celebrating milestones, being grateful for the time and appreciating the sacrifice. In October I trained on 26 out of 31 days, training for 52.9 hours for the month, which is on track for my desired 10 hours per week. October had some epic wet weather here in Brisbane and the trainer and treadmill copped a bit of a beating. The weather also played havoc with my discipline and consistency a little, but I still managed to get the desired quantity of work and even some really good quality sessions in!
During October I entered (and attempted to finish) the following Strava challenges:
Running:
- Oct Distance Challenge – complete 49km finishing 98,679 of 151,412 participants
- Oct 10k Race – Complete twice, my best average pace was 5:03min/km, finishing 39,310 of 156,936 participants
- Oct Half Marathon Race – I didn’t complete this month, a calf injury is hampering my running.
- Oct Climbing Challenge – 235m/2,500m, finishing 66,913 of 84,473 participants
Cycling:
- Oct Climbing Challenge – completing 4,833m/8000m finishing 68,033 of 137,871 participants
- Oct Gran Fondo – 120km was my longest ride finishing 40,114 of 155,025 participants
- Oct Distance Challenge – complete 778km finishing 30,993 of 171,178 participants.
I love that these challenges give me something fun to watch and monitor during the heavy loads of training. During October they provided the perfect motivation to get out there ticking over the k’s and hours trying to maintain some consistency in my training.
The following is a summary of activities for October, banking time was the goal:
The following little chart is from my excel spreadsheet I use to track volumes & hours, it helps me stay on track for my annual goals, also providing a good summary of the monthly total:
October was a little easier than previous months as there was some racing. Racing makes the training easier and you can finally see some rewards for all the hours and efforts. I competed in two races, the first was a standard (olympic, 1.5, 40, 10) distance race at Robina, round 2 of the Queensland Triathlon Series. The Robina course is a 2 lap swim in the canals on the Gold Coast, a 5 lap bike and a 3 lap run. It’s a little more technical than I am use to, coming off the back of Ironman and 70.3 training, the intensity work was good fun! Embracing the burn was where my head was at. My official results are here, you’ll notice my timing chip must have played up as I have no splits, but C’est la vie! My Garmin & Strava data is as follows:
QTS Round 2, Robina – Strava Swim
QTS Round 2, Robina – Strava Bike
QTS Round 2, Robina – Strava Run
QTS Round 2, Robina – Garmin Connect Multisport
Robina was made super special by the simple fact our club made the most noise and created an amazing atmosphere! We had cow bells and lots of yelling, screaming and cheering when any of our 22 competitors ran past our tent!
The second race was a sprint distance race at Bribie Island, which is its own series run by the Run Inn. This series has been around for a long time, well over 30 years (maybe 35 years). It’s a bit smaller than the QTS series, but very well organised and run, a credit to the organisers! The swim is in the Pumistone passage and is tide assisted (which makes it super fast), the bike is a 2 lap very technical course and the run is a very simple 2 lap out and back along the foreshore of the passage. My official results can be found here, and my Strava and Garmin data in the following links:
Bribie Island Round 1 – Strava Swim
Bribie Island Round 1 – Strava Bike
Bribie Island Round 1 – Strava Run
Bribie Island Round 1 – Garmin Connect Multisport
I surprised myself here picking up a 2nd place in y age group of 40-44, which was a nice reward for all the effort and training!
October also saw my amazing wife and I bring up our 100th parkrun, sharing the occasion with the amazing super supportive family we have gathered here at Capalaba parkrun. 
That’s a total of 500km run at parkrun! We were both pretty stoked to get this milestone and claim out 100th parkrun tee-shirts, photos of these when they arrive on Instagram!
Parkrun is such an amazing environment, where everyone can come along and get active without any judgement. At Capalaba we have runners around 18 minutes right out to 1 hour for the 5km and the cheering and celebrations for personal best is the same no matter where you finish! If you’ve never done a parkrun its the perfect place to start running, as Nike would say, ‘Just Do It’!
Continuing the massive month, in conjunction with Triathlon Queensland we attended a Open Water Skills Development day. The weather was less than desirable, cold and windy, but it meant the skills being taught were all the more valuable and able to be practised. In attendance dispersing some great knowledge to the kids was Cody Grimsley from Grimsley Adult Swim Fit. The morning concluded with a short aquathlon (run, swim, run) in order to help prepare the kids for the upcoming ‘All School’ competition. 
Finally and lastly in October we had the All Schools Triathlon / Aquathon’ for all the junior athletes! It was a massive day and each and every one of our kids gave their all. Some qualified through the represent their district ‘Met East’ at States next year, some didn’t, but they all made me as a coach super proud how they all conducted themselves, both on the course and off!
So now looking forward, I have an epic race schedule through to Christmas and it’s going to be a blast, so strap yourself in, cause it going to be awesome!
November
- The iconic Noosa Triathlon – Standard distance (1.5, 40, 10)
- Round 3 Queensland Triathlon Series Kawana – Aquathon (2.5, 1.0, 2.5)
- Harvey Bay 100 – Long course (2, 80, 18)
December
- Ironman WA, Busselton – Ironman (3.8, 180, 42.2), this will be my 3rd Ironman for 2017!
Then Christmas and a well-earned short break, because 2018 is shaping to be just as much fun or perhaps even more fun!
If you ever have any questions please reach out, I’m only a message away.
If you’re not active at the moment & need some inspiration, follow me on Strava, Instagram and like my facebook page and let’s get back out there swim, bike or running. Make sure you subscribe so you never miss a blog post from me! The biggest regret we can have in life is to not TRI!
Till next time build consistency, keep smiling and live to Tri!
SO, YOU WANT TO BE AN IRONMAN? 