Daniel Walley

A Pain in the Gong

So after 14 weeks of getting up early and dragging myself around Sydney’s eastern suburbs under my own steam I finally arrived in Wollongong (or The Gong as it is known locally)

My preparation had gone really well, training was consistent, no major injuries (that I knew of at the time) and I was feeling pretty good at the beach start.

At 8am exactly the starter’s horn went off, I ran forward, dived into the water and started to swim into a good position towards the head of the pack. 

300 metres later it was like someone had unplugged me from the grid, my body started to shut down and resist what I was putting it through.  I knew at this time, about 5 minutes in, that this was going to be one hell of a slog………and it was!

So the triathlon wasn’t the pleasurable experience that I thought it was going to be, however the most annoying aspect of the whole thing is that when you have an ‘off-day’ in an endurance event like this, you go slower and the pain stretches out for even longer.

For the avoidance of any doubt, I did make it round in one piece.  It took me about 20 minutes longer than my 3 hour target, which looking back is actually a pretty good outcome. Unfortunately, this experience means that I now have to do another one to prove that it shouldn’t hurt like it did.

In true accountant style, I thought that I would provide some stats on how much training was required over the last 14 weeks to get me round an Olympic triathlon:

Bike

Total km:                     818km

Metres Climbed:           6001m

Time on bike:               37hr 8mins

Running

Total km:                     135km

Metres Climbed:            800m

Time on feet:                14hr 25mins

Pool Swims

Total km:                      28km

Open Water Swims

Total km:                      23km

Weight

Training Day 1:             90kg

Gong Race Day:            78kg

I wouldn’t have been able to attempt this without a significant level of professional support, so huge thanks to:

CanToo Coaches:                                Gordo “Plus Performance” Campbell,

                                                             Jeff “STG” Sapier

CanToo Mentors:                                Bruce, Amelia and Nerissa

Personal Trainer:                               Steve Lewis at Goodlife, Martin Place

Nutritionist:                                        Karl Hughan at Goodlife, Martin Place

Physio:                                                Blake Van Koesveld at Bend+Mend

And lastly, but most importantly, my:

Personal Travelling Support Crew:       Jo, Bella and Gracie

Lastly, a huge thank you to everyone that sponsored me.  I have been overwhelmed by the level of generosity and support that I have received.  The knowledge that everyone had committed their hard earned funds is what really dragged me round the course on Sunday when my mind and body were telling me to stop.

So what’s next?   The plan is to try and continue the current regime for a while longer, taking me through the following events:

12 April:            Australian Super Corporate Triathlon

23 May:            Port Stephens Olympic Triathlon

1 November:     Noosa Olympic Triathlon

If anyone has been inspired by my journey here, please feel free to get in touch and I can introduce you to the team that runs the CanToo program or just join me at one of the events listed above.

Thanks again

Daniel

PS – Turns out that I broke a rib at some point during the 14 weeks which probably explains the pain in my back during swimming!

2 weekends and 2 Triathlons !

In an effort to get some race preparation in for Wollongong, I have spent the last two weekends attempting Sprint distance triathlons (along with a few other CanToo'ers). 

These were both half the distance of the Wollongong race that is the main target, but are apparently a useful exercise in getting used to putting the three disciplines (swim, bike and run) together in one package.  Both were held in very picturesque locations, Kurnell which is on the south side of Botany Bay and then a bit of a further trek down the South Coast to Huskisson in Jervis Bay. 

There seems to be some big advantages to "triathloning" as an activity that I had never previously thought about; the main ones being that they seem to take place in great places and you are forced to get up early and enjoy them at their best in the morning light.  I am not too sure if the rest of the family agrees but they seemed to get up on both weekends without too much grumbling !

Kurnell

This was the official CanToo warm up event for the Olympic Distance crowd and was the actual event for the Sprint Distance CanToo'ers who we have been training with for the last few months.  As befits an official CanToo event, there was a great turn out and the place was awash with orange.

The race went pretty well for me, the swim went off smoothly and at a nice pace.  Surprisingly, I had no real pain from my shoulder which was good news and allowed me to swim hard.  The bike was well paced and I had enough left in the tank for my most difficult leg, the run.   The run was a three lap affair which also meant it had three hills which i always struggle with a bit.

The atmosphere was great and the support from the crowd and the CanToo'ers was amazing.

Huskissson (the Husky)

Huskisson was a bit of step outside of the official CanToo programme however I had been to this event before and found it to be a fantastic family weekend so fancied going again.  Both Jo and I did the Sprint distance tri, Bella did the Miniman tri and we all ran the 2.5km fun run with Grace. 

We were joined by Ben (my CanToo training partner) and his soon to be wife Zoe for the weekend, I think that even Zoe was tempted to sign up for next year. 

Also joining us were our good friends (the Souters) Sally and Will and their children Molly, Matilda and Henry.  All the kids were doing the Miniman (like Bella) and Will was doing the Sprint tri as well.  Everyone did a fabulous job in their events, Will putting in a particularly impressive 21 minute 5km on the run leg, if he buys himself a proper bike he will be troubling the Top 10 of the 35 to 40 yr group !  

Due to some glitch in the matrix or the timing chips, Jo managed to beat me (and Will and Ben) in the swim leg, depsite protesting all year that she hates the open water swim and is rubbish at it (Well done Jo!). 

There were plaenty of other CanToo'ers at the event too (Tarra, Ariel, Mark and Stevie P) looking to get some additional practice in before Wollongong.  

One thing to note (and was really encouraging in Husky) is that the CanToo orange outfits are really well recognised and supported.  I got plenty of encouragement from the crowd and other competitors on the way around.................there is some really strong momentum with these orange tribes.

Anyway, two weeks to go until the main event, not sure I feel ready yet but am hoping that adrenaline and energy gels will get me through !!!

Thanks for all of your support to date, it is much appreciated.

Daniel

Swim then runs at Clovelly (maybe the official term is Aquathon / Duathlon ?)

I never thought that I would enjoy the repetitive nature of swim and run loops at Clovelly Beach, however Saturday morning was excellent fun and we even added on an extra 2km hill run at the end !

I have been carrying a shoulder/back injury for the last four weeks which I think has arisen due to having no collar bones (an old cancer injury) and has been aggravated by swimming.

The lack of collar bones seems to be putting additional stress on my upper back and getting the muscles out of line.  This has been pretty frustrating as I think that the swim is my favourite leg of the triathlon and I was enjoying the training.

Anyway, after four weeks "sitting on the side of the pool" it was probably time to get back in again and just give the back a blast to see what happened.  

Yes it hurt a bit, but it felt good to be back in the water again, and I havent forgotten how to swim which is a small bonus.......roll on the Kurnell Sprint Tri at the weekend to give it a proper test.

I'm training for an Olympic Triathlon with Can Too!

I am training for an event with Can Too, a health promotion organisation that engages and inspires individuals and the community to achieve personal health, wellbeing and altruistic goals.
 
Beginners and experienced athletes alike are given professional coaching as part of a team to run or swim in endurance events- including 10km, half-marathon and marathon runs; as well as ocean swims and triathlons.
 
In return, I am raising valuable funds that go towards innovation in the prevention, care and control of cancer. In 2014, our Can Too community has supported 19 early career researchers through Cure Cancer Australia.

Thank you for supporting me!
 
‘It’s so much fun and I can’t believe I’m going to achieve this goal that I never thought possible. A great program and team support is making it possible. You Can Too!’