Race course review Archives

Ironman Melbourne Course Review – by Vinnie Santana – ironguides.net

The inaugural Ironman Melbourne proved one for the record books; a stacked field of professional athletes, including several world champions, delivered a Sub-8 hour performance by Craig Alexander and an oh-so-close Sub-8 for Cameron Brown, who finished second in an 8:00:12 personal best. Not to be outdone, female winner Caroline Steffen crossed the line in 8:34:51, smashing her PB by about half an hour; she is now the world’s second-fastest Ironwoman behind Chrissie Wellington.

I was fortunate enough to be down there supporting a group of athletes and witness the action firsthand. Here are my tips for athletes considering taking part in this event in the coming years.

I would definitely recommend this race for first timers; it will certainly provide a fun experience and conditions are relatively friendly, even in the very worst-case scenarios. Athletes seeking a Personal Best will find this race their winning lottery ticket as it is a very fast course with all the components that help speedy finish times: a wetsuit swim, cold weather, a flat bike and run, and swift competition.

The level of competition in Australian races is very high. Ironman Melbourne offers a great number of slots to the World Championships in Kona (75 this year and next). However, be ready to perform at a top level, i.e. high speed, if you are aiming to secure one since the combination of a fast course and strong competition makes this one of the fastest qualifying courses on the ironman circuit.

One downside involves the logistics of having two transition zones that are 42km apart. This makes it hard for supporters to follow the race, spreads the crowds on the run course which makes it relatively lonely and quiet for the athlete, and requires a very early wake-up as athletes still need to commute almost an hour to the start line in Frankston from the official hotel, and IM city, in St Kilda.

Finally, Melbourne is famous for offering all weather types in one day. Two days out from race day it was extremely windy—the chop in the water was such that I imagine the swim would have been cancelled if conditions had been the same on race day. If you plan to compete in Melbourne over the next few years and the race remains around the same time of the year, bring gear for all conditions and be ready for a blustery day, which may also impact equipment choice such as race wheels.

SWIM

Be mentally prepared to swim in the dark and use goggles with clear lenses. By the time the swim starts, the sun is not out yet. Most swimmers reported feeling lost during the first 10 minutes of the swim since it starts parallel to the shore and the lights on stand-up paddleboards get mixed with lights from nearby towns on the horizon. Find a pack to swim with so that it can help you navigate until the sun comes out.

Use a long-sleeve wetsuit as it helps protect you from the cold water and also will help you be warmer when starting out on the bike.

Wetsuit swims put a strain on the shoulders that you want to simulate in training. Do sets with a pullbuoy and paddles to mimic the extra flotation of the wetsuit with the increased strain on the shoulders. Example as below:

Warm up, then do main set:

With pullbuoy and paddles do 1 to 3 times 1.2km as:

400m HARD – 10sec rest

400m moderate – 10sec rest

400m easy

2min rest between each 1.2km set

This session simulates race start; flat out for the first third (note: don’t use the wall to push off as you don’t in the race either), then settle into a cruise pace for the second 400m, and then go easy in the last 400m to loosen up and recover for the next 1.2km set.

BIKE

It’s a two-lap course on a highway, with the first half lap on a very light incline and likely headwind, while the ride home is much faster on a slight downhill and with a tailwind. The inclines are gentle and the course could be considered flat, except for a couple of aggressive downhill and uphill sections near a tunnel.

Pacing is important as it is easy to overdo it on the first fourth of the course, and you want to be mentally ready for a challenging section from 90km to 135km. To simulate course conditions incorporate cadence variations on your long rides as per the example below:

On the back end of your long ride, add the following set:

2 hours moderate, alternating cadence as:

30min heaviest gear, if possible against the wind

30min at a 90+RPM cadence

This session will get your body and mind used to the different requirements of strength, muscle tension and cadence on race day. Remain on your aerobars at all times.

RUN

The unusual point-to-point format can make the 42km rather lonely as there is limited crowd support on parts of the run.

Expect a big variety of surfaces including roads, grass, gravel and trails by the beach, as well as a few sharp twists and turns.

The gradient also varies. To simulate that, do part of your specific runs on rolling hills and learn how to recover from running up a hill while you hold a moderate pace on the flat or downhill, as per the set below:

Hill repeats on the treadmill or road:

15min build warm-up, then:

[2min hard uphill (about 6-8%)

4min moderate on flat (keep the speed)

2min easy recovery flat/downhill if on roads]

Repeat the above 4 to 7 times

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These workouts and information should give you the confidence that, even without having raced Ironman Melbourne, know what to expect and how to prepare for it.

Enjoy your training.

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Ironman Busselton Course Review

Ironman Busselton is a common choice for triathletes based in Asia. In fact, it is the Ironman I usually recommend to many of our athletes doing their first one. The relatively easy access to Perth, similar time zones and mild temperature are some of the benefits of racing in Busselton.

And the course is very, very fast. Winners usually get close to the 8-hour mark, which is definitely the benchmark for a fast course. Since this race made its debut in 2004, pros have had to finish in 8:16 or faster to secure victory. The exception was 2005 when stormy conditions slowed the overall times—the top time that year was 8:27.

Swim (3.8km)

The one-lap swim takes place at the stunning Busselton Jetty. Athletes start on one side of the jetty and swim around it (which, incidentally, is fantastic for spectating friends and family). It is a wetsuit swim with a deep water start, which is something all athletes should be ready for. Swimming in a wetsuit, although it feels generally easier due to the extra flotation the suit provides, is also harder on your shoulders.

Training in a wetsuit is recommended to strengthen your specific swimming muscles, and to get used to the feel of the suit and the extra strain on the shoulders. However, athletes based in the southern Asian locations such as KL, Singapore or Bangkok, face another problem: they only have access to warm pools. The hot weather and water make training in a wetsuit not only uncomfortable, but also dangerous due to risks of dehydration and overheating.

A great way to simulate a wetsuit swim, without using the suit, is by swimming with a set of paddles and a pullbuoy. The buoy simulates the buoyancy of the wetsuit, while the paddles add the extra strain on the shoulders.

A long swim with the pull gear, broken down in short repeats, is a perfect workout to simulate race day, such as the following:

LONG SWIM – Strength + Endurance

25-35x100m, swum as:

* First 4 easy warmup

* Last 2 easy cooldown

* The rest ALL SAME SPLIT (meaning: start easy and hold the split)

* Maximum SUSTAINABLE pace

* NEVER burning lungs

* Aiming for DEAD ARMS

* Use XS or small Tyr Catalyst paddles + pull buoy (biggest you can find)

* 15sec rest after each

Don’t aim to destroy yourself aerobically in these! The goal is to swim steady—not to set best times—holding your best time that is sustainable for the entire set.

This set is about swim strength. You keep your heart rate down by using the paddles, while the pull buoy gets you positioned properly so you can focus on arm technique (which the paddles help with as well). It’s not a lung scorcher, so you are nice and recovered aerobically. Breaking the session down in shorter repeats gives you the same aerobic benefit as a straight swim but the short rest is enough to allow you to swim faster and with a better technique, teaching you good habits.

Bike (180.2km)

The three-lap pancake-flat H-shaped bike course can be fast and furious. In some years strong winds have been present.

As confusing as it sounds, the biggest challenge of this course is that it’s 100% flat. The problem lies in the fact that you get no break or resting period at all, as opposed to hilly or undulating courses on which you can coast and rest a bit when going downhill.

Busselton requires some serious bike endurance and strength, both leg and core, since you are supposed to ride on your aerobars for the entire bike leg.

It is important to do most of your long bike sessions on a flat course to improve your endurance and specific racing needs. If you live in a hilly area with very limited access to flat roads, an indoor trainer is a great option to work on endurance since it simulates the no-rest-or-coasting conditions of Busselton.

Apart from riding long and on a flat course on your weekends, a great way to simulate the later stages of the bike leg is by doing a negative split ride on the trainer in your time trial position, as described below:

1hr negative split ride as:

20min easy

20min moderate

20min hard

**race cadence (70-80rpm) and on your aerobars for the entire workout
Run (42.2km)

The new four-lap run course along the Busselton foreshore is also flat, which only adds to the neuromuscular fatigue of your already tired biking legs. At Busselton, there are no hills but there is also no rest!

Your muscles are firing at the same rate and your stride is exactly the same for the entire course. Unless you are a very experienced triathlete who is aiming for a placing, I highly recommend using a run:walk protocol, which provides you with a neuromuscular reset every so often.

In racing, aid stations may be our saving grace in more ways than just the opportunity to refuel. They give us a reason to stop or slow down for a short period of time. This, it appears, is enough time for a rest in neuromuscular patterns to occur. Many professional Ironman racers will walk through aid stations. This is simply because they have learned that taking on fuel is easier after walking while they also feel better when they resume running. These breaks seem to ward off fatigue.

A great way to simulate this scenario is by structuring your long runs with walk breaks to fuel, which will also give you the opportunity to run with a better technique, at a faster pace, and it decreases injury risk.

Long run structured as:

2hr20 to 2hr40 (depending on level, background, goals, etc) as:

9min run at 90 steps per minute

1min power walk for refueling

To sum it up, Ironman Busselton is a great experience, both for the first-time ironman and the veteran looking for a PB, but make sure you develop your endurance, learn how to use muscular resets on the bike and run, since the flat course can be extremely challenging.

Enjoy your training.