Weekly Update and The Kids Run with Thomas

Seeing it's only Friday, i'm going to include last Sunday in this (first) weekly update. And it's getting late on Friday, and i'm falling asleep so it's going to be brief.

Last Sunday began with a trip to the hills so the kids could do the Run with Thomas (the Tank Engine) Fun Run.  The runs were pretty short, but the kids had a great time anyway!

And yes, it was damn cold!!!

My training since then has been:

• Sunday arvo - 1.5 hr run
• Monday - 1 hr bike on trainer, followed by 15min run
• Tuesday - 1 hr swim
• Wednesday - 1 hr trainer ride in the morning
• Thursday - 1.5 hr run
• Friday - 1 hr swim

A couple of the sessions i've struggled, but most of it has been targeting low HR endurance work, so i was just concentrating on holding form and keeping on keeping on!

Saturday is supposed to be my long run and an hour ride, but i'm thinking an easy ride/run brick session of 1-1.5 hrs, so i'm relatively well rested for Sunday's 140km Winery Ride with Orica Green Edge.

Also, I'm tipping i'm going to be a little sore come Monday morning, so i've booked in to see my physio first thing Monday.

The one thing that i may need a little assistance with is my diet.  I'm happy that it's pretty well balanced as far as Carbs, Protein and Fats go - but i'm still a little unsure on how much i should be eating and when.

Also pretty happy with the energy i'm using while training.  I'm trialling a mix of things in solid, liquid and gel form so i can see what my stomach likes and dislikes.

Until next time, happy training!!

Why Build a Welsford Pathfinder...

Those of you who are long term followers of my ramblings, may know that i had (or am currently trying to sell) my Jedda 22 trailersailer...

The plan is to replace it with a sail boat which can live in my garage. The main reason for this is so I can do any required maintenance, upgrades, and just general tinkering without having to waste too much time travelling back and forth to the marina.

The size of boat which can fit in my garage is limited to about 16ft or so. And with the low headroom, it only leaves daysailers as a viable option - as they don't have cabins.

The other issue is the variety of conditions in which i want to go sailing.  The waterways around home are generally open to the prevailing winds, with quite expansive fetches, thereby enabling quite choppy conditions to develop both in a short time, and in quite light winds (in the order of 15 kts).

The "keep it in the garage" criteria lends itself a daysailer quite nicely.

After my initial investigations, i really liked the look of the Islay Skiff...

However, the "choppy conditions (and try to remain relatively dry)" criteria lends itself to something with high(ish) gunwales and internal buoyancy (in case of swamping).

So after a little more searching, and the watching of a few YouTube vid's, i found the Welsford Navigator...

I love the look of the Yawl and thought that was that...

Then i saw that John Welsford also designed a slightly larger version, the Pathfinder...

and was absolutely sold!

Quick check of the dimensions showed it would fit on the garage, and now i'm the proud owner of a set of plans...

Just need to do some major landscaping works around the house (and various other things), and then it's time to build!

List of links which may come in handy...

This post is more of a scrap book of links and ideas which i've found on the interwebs which may come in handy.
I'll be adding to it as stuff comes to my attention.

Well what does one need when building a timber boat...??  Fittings!! Hopefully i'll end up making all the said fittings, but if not --->>>    http://www.woodenboatfittings.com.au./index.htm

A boat building specific search engine... that'll surely come in handy!! -->>  http://www.unlikelyboatbuilder.com/2010/12/ubb-search-engine.html

Looking at updates from other builds is going to be a great benefit...so here's a start -->>
http://chinookbuild.blogspot.com.au/
http://arandbe.blogspot.com.au/
http://jonspathfinder.blogspot.com.au/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/barrettfaneuf/sets/72157602099500675/
http://pathfinderriksbuild.blogspot.com.au/
http://suzyj.blogspot.com.au/

Lofting...I have to do what...?!?!?!?

So... just as an aside, when i start a sentence with "so", it's just a way of giving myself extra time to think before i have to write something down - kind of like written procrastination.

So, lofting...???...

So, I have a pile of 12 sheets of paper which will apparently magically turn into a sailboat...

To quote from The Unlikely Boatbuilder...

Lofting is the process of blowing up the relatively small-scale plans you get from your naval architect into full size plans.

This process is thought to be so complicated that many modern architects supply full-size plans to eliminate the need for lofting.

So, that's what lofting is...but how does one actually go about lofting?

Well in awesome related news, i was searching through the posts / conversations on the JWBuilders Yahoo Group for lofting advice and i found this message from John Welsford...

Lofting is not something that i expect my customers to do, i do that here, and scale the drawings off it.  The most you have to do is draw out a component from a scale drawing with baselines established and offsets shown.  Not hard work at all.

And in other "That's Brilliant" news, i've found some layouts showing how people have fitted all the "pieces" (so, my boat building lingo needs some work) of frame onto the 9mm and 12mm ply to minimise the number of sheets required.

So i think this evening i might go home and have a look at the plans in some detail and start to mentally prepare!

Because I haven't had a crazy idea for a few months...

With my Jedda up for sale, it's time to think about a new boat.  The Australia market is pretty devoid of daysailers, so i'm planning to build one...

It's a John Welsford designed Gaff rigged Yawl.

From John's website...

There has been a lot of enquiry for a “bigger Navigator”. Someone said, “One with room to sleep on a nice flat space that doesn’t need rearrangement of the floorboards to stretch out”. Another said, “I have a family which is effectively four adults, and while Navigator will accommodate that many, we’d like a boat just like that but stretched a bit”. Others wanted more speed or more range, a motor in a well inside, room for more gear, and so on. Lots of enquiries.

I had in mind a really serious cruising dinghy. With full buoyancy, lots of storage, about the maximum size that two people could right if swamped in a hard chance, really capable in a head sea ( a weakness in almost any small boat) and capable of making some sort of progress in really nasty conditions. A boat still really well adapted to exploring an estuary with the family, cruising along a sunny coast or even just knocking around the bay while Mum and Dad have a quiet snooze on the beach, but capable of fulfilling the dreams of those who read Frank and Margaret Dyes stories with far away looks in their eyes, capable of really covering some miles, and capable of doing so in the sort of weather that will eventually catch up with every voyager.

My experience in sailing Navigators led me to strongly favour a rig similar to the yawl rig so popular on that design, she can heave to head to wind with the mizzen sheeted hard on with the jib and main sheets flying, will balance and sail well on jib and mizzen only in really awful weather, can be sailed forwards, sideways or backwards and will self steer on most points of sail. One really good point of this rig is that the main lies straight down the middle of the boat when you are putting a reef in, much easier than a sloop where the boom invariably hangs over the side.

I have though drawn a gaff sloop rig for those who like to race in the old gaffers events, or who are into daysailing more than cruising, it will offer more speed upwind and slightly more downwind due to the greater projected area of that big main, but for me the versatility of the yawl is hard to beat.

I’d drawn the hull years ago, and built a scale model. The numbers were all done and for some reason she ended up being put away. I did pull the drawing out now and again, I even asked the guys on Openboat forum (A yahoo group) what they’d like in the way of a serious cruising dinghy. Very recently the clamour got too much and I spent a couple of days on her. The shape got altered a little to incorporate some design lessons learned and I have almost all of the plans done. I’m very pleased with the way she is shaping up.

This boat has a very high power to weight ratio, her extra length over the 15 ft Navigator means a lot of extra sail carrying ability and still having the fine lines necessary for speed and comfort, I really like the rig, the gaff headed main is very controllable and the extra spacing between the main and mizzen will help the boat point well. She’ll be a rocket reaching and running and I suspect that it will take a very good boat to get away from her upwind.

The shape forward should mean she is a dry boat, and the big foredeck and wide side decks will help the crew to stay out of the spray, there are lots of dry storage spaces for camping gear and stores, and the swinging centreboard and rudder mean that she can be sailed into water as little as knee deep.

The construction method is the same as Navigator, a flat bottom panel substitutes for a keel, plywood frames are cut out and erected on the bottom panel and stringers bent around, then clinker lapped planks are laid over those. Most Navigator builders have never built a boat before and I expect that Pathfinder will be the same so I’ve stuck with my tried and true methods. 

She should take an experienced and motivated builder about 225 hours unpainted, you can think how much slower your own skills would be in comparison and get an idea of how long she would take you. She’s not beyond a winter of evenings for a couple of keen friends and even for one it would not be an impossible task.

I’m looking forward to seeing some of these around; being honest I want to borrow one!

John Welsford.
Designer.

Update - My Ironman Training Plan.

If i've done my maths correct, it's just over 18 weeks until my first Ironman triathlon!!

In the past few months my training has been a little spasmodic, with a niggling injury which required a bit of time off running (and missing the Melbourne Marathon), a week away for work, the 3 week road trip to the Sunshine Coast to do the Noosa triathlon -->> Linky to blog post! ... and as i write this, i'm just getting over a few days of stomach bug which has left my with absolutely no energy at all! (Oh, and we're away for the weekend, with minimal scope for training).

Hopefully come Monday, i'll be feeling fresh and ready to go!!

I've based my training program on the plans presented by Don Fink, in his book Be Iron Fit.

 

The main thrust of the program is that you will spend your day racing in your endurance / fat burning heart rate zone, so make your body effective at burning fat. This is achieved by doing 90% of your training in that HR zone.  

The program builds from 12 hours a week to 20 hours a week, before tapering over the final 3 weeks.  I believe the key is the increasing length of the zone 2 training, with an also increasing zone 4 (verging on anaerobic) intensity slotted into the end of most sessions.

I really have no idea whether this program is going to be sufficient to get me through or not. But apparently it's tried and tested, so i just have to believe it will and follow it! 

Three weeks before race day, the program calls for over 5 hours on Saturday backed up with over 7 hours on Sunday. If i can get through that and be fresh (?) enough for my next session, i'll know i'm ready for the Ironman!!

As well as the physical training required, nutrition is also VERY important...but that's for another blog post!

Relaxing Post Noosa...

I forgot to add this photo of my bike relaxing after the Noosa triathlon, to the previous blog, so here it is...

Just getting those liquid carbs back in ;)

My Noosa Triathlon 2013 Experience

Before I get into the juicy details of my Noosa triathlon experience for this year, I just have to say a massive thanks to Claire for wrangling the kids, both on the day of the race and during all the lead up things I had to do. A task which was made more difficult by her back pain. And also thanks to Graham, for road tripping for up the day to add to my cheer squad, take photos, and help wrangle kids.


Pre Race


Due to the massive number of competitors at Noosa, check in and kit collection is done on the Friday arvo or Saturday before the race, and bikes are racked the day before.


So Friday arvo arrived, and I joined the far queue for check-in, and of course it was in the blazing hot sun...

After getting the race kit, and checking that my ankle timing tag worked, I ventured into the expo. I wasn't happy with my current aero water bottle, I wanted one of the torpedo style aero bottles... Bingo! I found one in the expo, and I was going to do something that you should never do on race day, try something new...

Saturday morning we headed back into Noosa, so I could rack my bike. Unlike some races, where you get an allocated rack position based on your number, the racking at Noosa is a free for all, with a section for each age group.


Bike racked... Tyres deflated... Row number noted...

Now off to the beach to find Claire and the kids. Once I found them, the next stop was the beach coffee cart – the fact the barista was in a bikini was just a bonus...


After I had a little play in the water with the kids, I felt like a short swim around the “swim between the flags” buoys. I forgot how much my board shorts acted like a parachute... That was harder work!


Then it was off to the Noosa Surf Club for light lunch a few last minute liquid carbs.


After lunch we came back to Coolum, spent the afternoon relaxing, and got my race day kit together.

It was then time for an early, dinner, and early off to bed...


3:30am … BUZZ! BUZZ! BUZZ!! …


RACE DAY!!!!!!

With so many people racing Noosa and the relatively tight course, wave starts are the order of the day.

The Elite men and women start at 6:15 and 6:16 respectively, followed by another 41 waves of age group competitors, then 12 team wave starts. Totally 55 waves from 6:15 to 9:44... I was due to start at 8:26.

Due to the early start time transition closed at 6:00, which meant being at Noosa by about 5 am – which was very early for the awesome support crew!!

After my transition was set, I had breakfast, a coffee, ensured I remained hydrated and watched the Elites (and early age groupers) set off...as well as the Elites finish.

Downing a bottle a gatorade an hour before start time and I was ready to go!!

SWIM....SWIM....!!!

Unlike many triathlons, where the event starts from the beach and the masses run into the sea, Noosa is a deep water start.  About 20 minutes before i was due to start, i made my way from watching the Elite male winner cross the finish to the start.

At this stage i'm always nervous that i've got the wrong time for my wave. Luckily, each wave has a different colour swim cap - my wave had pink! Quick check...yep, plenty of pink caps mingling and warming up. So into the lagoon i dove...trying to forget about the sea-snake which had freaked out the Elite females, at their start!

Rolling the arms around, with a few efforts, felt good. Out of the water i got for a few minutes rest before the start, and i ran into a mate who was starting in the wave after me. All of a sudden, the pink caps all entered the water...wished Andy good luck and then it was GO TIME!!

I know i'm not the world's fastest swimmer so i started toward the back of the wave. Last year at Noosa i copped a few punches and kicks in the swim, which freaked me out a bit and i struggled for the rest of the swim.  This year my plan was to relax, concentrate on my form and breathing and what ever happened - DON'T STOP SWIMMING!

Well it worked...my swim was a few minutes faster than last year (and apparently it was long - with people's Garmin data showing between 1650m and 1750m.)

RIDE...!!!

So into transition i ran, goggles off, swim cap off. Some people just ditch the swim cap - but mine was pink, and Em loves pink...so swim the cap was saved!

...ok...where's lane 42...ah there it is.  Now, in my previous attempts at Olympic distance races it's been quite easy to find my bike ... this time however, there were actually a number of bikes around mine still racked!! WOO HOO!! My swim is getting faster!!!!

OK...gel down ... drink some water ... helmet, sunnies, bike shoes on (still keeping it simple and not trying the flying leap into shoes whilst running with bike) shove a few gels in pockets ... grab bike and off i go!!

The first bit of the ride is quite technical - narrow sections, round-a-bouts, speed humps - then the roads open up and it's a great rise...

About 10 km into the ride we head up! It's about a 100 m rise in 3 km - so it's not tough but it does interrupt your rhythm.

As i started to ride the hill, i sat up out of the aerobars and thought i'd take a drink...well...that didn't go too well! I grabbed the bottle from the cage behind me seat, and it slipped out of my hand and started to roll back down the hill...

FUCK! 

... ok... pull over, get off bike, run down hill after it... Ordinarily i would have left it, but as it was hot i wanted to ensure i had enough water (with electrolyte).

So, back i the bike i jump and get about completing the rest of the hill...

 

I found the ride a bit tricky to pace - i didn't want to go too hard, as i knew i still had to run and it was only going to get hotter.  There were a number of cyclists on the road who were significantly slower than me, and a few who were significantly faster.  In theory, Noosa is a non-drafting ride, meaning you can't just sit behind somebody else. But in reality, the course is pretty crowded, so to not draft you need to sit a bit further out in the road... So now we have people passing some people, people passing everybody, and people trying not to draft. This leads to a lot of looking around and general upsetting of rhythm. I suppose with experience this'll get easier.

 

Now it was time for the downhill - which drops the same 100m, but in about 1500m.  Long term readers of my drivel may remember that I'm the world's worst descender, so while others were smashing down at speeds approaching 80kph (or more) i was gently rolling down in the mid 40s. My max speed for the ride was actually recorded on the slight downhill just after the turnaround.

 

Passing the local Primary School, i can see the temperature has risen from 29 C to 34 C while i was on the bike... aarrgghhh...this run could be fun!

 

 

 

Back into town was uneventful, again dodging weaving, and being dodged and weaved, as the course tightened again...and through the cheering crowd. 

 

 

there's my entourage "Woo, Hoo! Hey Gang!!" - and on to the transition.

 

 

RUN, RUN, RUN...!!!

 

And off the bike i get...my legs give it a bit of "whoww...what are we doing now..." but after a few seconds it's all good.  Before i enter transition a quick look to the right and i can see those who started earlier finishing and relaxing under the hoses...ok, focus, rack bike and go!!!

 

Quick change of gear, mouthful of water/electrolyte, grab a gel, and GO!!

 

Onto the run, quick thumbs up to Claire, the kids and Graham and run!

 

The. Run. Was. HOT!!  

 

Last year the run got the better of me, so this year i was determined to go a little easier, monitor my HR, and get through.

 

The first few km's were good, HR at a good level, pace good, and i was grabbing a sip of water at each aid station, running through hoses - everything i could to keep cool and assist my body to keep cool so i didn't put that extra stress of cooling on my system.

 

Through 5k, still feeling pretty good - but at 6k the wheels fell off...i think i was just cooked! Between 6k and 9k I employed a run / walk strategy.  I downed a gel at 7k but that didn't really help - having said that, it didn't actually hurt either.

 

By 9k I was feeling ok again, and with the noise coming from the sides and knowing I was almost home I was able to run properly again!

 

The support toward the end was great (actually it was great for the entire course), cheers from random people -  supporters of other athletes, other athletes, and just random supporters, and High 5's from kids is enough to get you home!

 

It was also great to get the cheers of support on course from the other MPTC crew competing!

 

AND DONE!!

 

At the end of the day i was pretty happy with my performance - yes, i would have liked to get through quicker - but for my first hit of for the season (and getting back recently from injuries) there's no complaints. I'm really happy that i got through the race without injury!!

After a quick dip in the lagoon, a drink of about 47 litres of sports drink and water, and eating 16 watermelons, it was time to go and find the family...

There they are!!

Not sure what i'm saying here - but was i was suggested that i was saying how far off winning i was, to which Claire replied "there, there dear - you've had too much sun..."

Massive thanks to Claire and the kids for the support, and Graham and Cameron from coming up from Ipswich!!

And look... Em and Cameron were cute on at least one occasion!