Ben Fouhy World Champion K1 1000m Kayaking New Zealand

One of the best things about living in Auckland is being close to the water – lots of it! This morning I paddled out to Rangitoto with Coast to Coast champion Gordon Walker and past World Duathlon Champion Dr Mat Brick.

What a fantastic start to the day. We paddled the 4 or 5k out to the island then ran around one side of the base of this old volcano before running to the summit and the down the other side and back to our kayaks.

Gordon with the Rangitoto light house in the back ground

The summit of Rangitito in the background

This week the NZ Kayak team left for Europe. This will be the first time since 2001 that I wouldn’t have been overseas for competition. I wondered how I would feel about that when the World Cups came around… The first one has now come and gone and I am happy to say there were no pangs of envy or withdrawal. I am very much embracing the year out from competition and enjoying the recreational approach to paddling.

Thanks to the team at Nelo I am now enjoying the latest in kayaking – the new Vanquish 3 has lived up to my high expectations as a boat that has the Nelo appeal and a performance characteristic more suited to my style of paddling – that is a boat that has a straighter hull and tends to run.

Over the past weekend I had the opportunity to join the current NZ kayak team in camp prior to their departure for Europe. It was very enjoyable to be out on the water with New Zealands best paddlers without being too concerned about form. I was amazed to paddle a 7.39 for the 2k TT that kicked off the camp as I have been doing very little in the way of any training. I was also happy to come fourth in the 500 in which I was 2.7 seconds behind the winner paddling a 1.48 into the headwind – quite surprising and definitely a nice way to christen the new boat.

Inside the cockpit they have laid down a nice timber veneer which in the flesh adds a nice element of luxury.

Since the Ironman things have been pretty low key. I have enjoyed training for only the sheer fun of it. When I have felt like sleeping in or having a day off exercise I have which has been great.

The weather lately has been amazing! A little cooler but beautiful fresh blue sky days week after week! So perfect weather for cycling! The funny thing about cycling that I have found is that the body can push so much harder for longer than it can in other sports like running or paddling.. but in cycling when you blow up you really blow up! when the body has had enough and the legs go on holiday there is not much to do about it apart from rest or ride easy and keep the expectations in check. In paddling I have been very tired but never something a few easy days couldn’t fix.. One of the challenges after the Ironman is taking the recommend rest which seems to be not much more than nothing in the first two weeks then very easy after that and nothing too serious for a month! A lot easier said than done. Once the muscle soreness was gone I couldn’t wait to get out there -the advice was echoing in the back of my mind in the Sunday bunch ride just a week after the Ironman as I was getting it fed to me by the national road race champ on the customary hill climb! Now I am paying for it as my legs are dead as. Not too concerned though as I am just cruising at the moment and enjoying the sheer pleasure of being outside exercising rather than training with the burden of Olympic aspirations.. creeping is just fine.

Last week I did feel the urg to get in the boat though and decided the local Tuesday night ski race would be a goer, without prize money or competition points up for grabs a few of the tops guys sat it out, even so I was still surprised to win and have a winning margin very comparable to the guys that had sat it out to the guys that were there looking back over previous weeks.. curious I thought.. I was intrigued to quantify just how much I would have dropped off on just over two months without paddling.. so a blood lactate test was in order I felt. As it turned out I finished well inside a stage of my best ever on water blood lactate test! For those that dont know a lactate test is like a beep test at school. We do one kilometer repeats that get progressively faster by ten seconds per stage. We go one stage past threshold and end up finishing by doing a 3.50min km. At the end of each stage the heart rate and blood lactate is recorded on a graph. The blood lactate is measured by taking a drop of blood from the ear lobe and putting it onto some thing that looks like a glucose meter.

Encouraged by this I did the 10k race with the boys on Saturday morning and finished a close second in a sprint finish going 41m36sec over 10.07km with 10 180 degree turns.. so a decent enough effort after only paddling a couple of times in just over two months! I can see how it works for the Europeans who are unable to train on the water in their winter/our summer and come back fresh to paddling but being very fit from all the cross training. A very nice platform to work off.

Next plans are to get some good miles in on the bike while the weather is so kind. I have a few little projects on the go so I will let you know when things have progressed a bit further on those.

All for now.

Well I am pleased to say that I survived the Ironman for 2009 while also managing to pick up a spot for Kona as the NZ Ironman is an official qualifying race.

Overall it was a really good day for me. I was pleased with my splits too which were somewhere around 52.52 for the swim, 5.13.21 bike and a 3.27.12 run making a total of 9.41.10s.

The conditions were kind with lower temperatures and some light rain which kept things cool.

The bike set up thanks to Pinarello and Kiwivelo was fantastic. I was grateful to have the fast wheels and aero helmet too which made the long day which is the Ironman that little bit shorter!

The first photo is lap one and the second is lap two. As you can see not quite the same spring in my step second time round! I was really happy to maintain just under 5 minute kilometers but the motivation changed through out the run from wanting to do a good run split to just finishing the run as quick as I could so I could get my feet up!

Below race winner Cameron Brown looks like he still has plenty of Gas! Running sub 2.45! for those that havnt worked it out 4 min ks is a 2.48 marathon so well under that!

When I was offered the use of some carbon race wheels I wasnt going to say no, you can buy an Olympic class kayak for the price of a top of the line set of race wheels. Being a rookie I was hoping the wheels might be something a little on the conservative side and not too deep. When they arrived the rear wheel was a disc with a message passed on to harden up! It is commonly accepted that you need to be riding a lot closer to Cameron Browns speed than what I am capable of to make it worth your while.I have received mixed advice about how efficient Disc wheels are at various speeds..

I went for an easy hour ride today to get the feel of it all. Luckily there was some wind around to get some kind of idea what the disc will feel like in the wind, particularly side wind. So far all good. The other thing I am told is that I will need to be careful not to get too carried away as the set up I am on is inspiring to say the least. Fast wheels make you want to ride faster than you really should.. sounds like it is a good idea to train on them for a bit to calibrate your effort to the feel of the bike as it does truly feel different with the fast wheels on.

The aero helmet thanks to Kiwivelo was a nice surprise too! I am really looking forward to Saturday.

www.kiwivelo.co.nz

With less than a week to go it sure feels nice to be feeling a bit fresher.. although if I dont feel a little more frisky before race start on Saturday I will be a little concerned… there has been a fine line between resting up and actually getting some training in.. time will tell I guess.

Big thanks to Asics shoes who have been supporting me over the years with running shoes and cross trainers. Its been great having their support. While I was paddling and doing very light milage on the road my Nimbus neutral shoes were doing just fine, however with the big jump in running milage and added cycling I needed some extra support in my shoes and have moved back to the Gel 3000. These have been great and thanks to Dene my guru Ironman physio I have been able to stay on top of my I.T Band problem which started on day two, and actually get some running in.

Tomorrow will be a light ride to make sure all the kit is in order and to keep the legs moving. I will put a up a photo of Pinarello FT-1 that the guys at Kiwivelo have done a great job of setting me up with.

With a ride that would be more than adequate for any pro to win on I wont have any excuses on the equipment side of it.

Well not being one to name drop on this occasion I cant really help myself. One of the cool things for me doing the Ironman this time around has been the opportunities I have had to train with some of the very best triathletes in the World. Now New Zealand has a very proud history in Triathlon over a variety of distances. With names like Rick Wells – World and Commonwealth games champion (pre Olympic Triathlon days), Erin Baker winner of just about everything she ever entered – to quote wikipidia 104 wins out of 121 races entered. Won Hawaii twice, many other Ironmans as well and a World Duathlon title. Kieran Doe winner of Ironman Canada, Bevan Docherty -World ITU champion and multiple Olympic medalist. Hamish Carter Olympic champion and on it goes.

Below after training this morning I managed to grab a quick photo with Terenzo Bozzone who is on my right and Cameron Brown. Terenzo has won multiple world junior titles in triathlon and Duathlon. An absolute machine who has gone on to be a major player in the elite seniors almost seamlessly. Last year Terenzo won the World Half Ironman title in Clearwater USA and in 2006 won Wildflower, California setting a new course record.

Cameron Brown on my left is gunning for his 8th New Zealand Ironman title this year. Cam has also won the European Ironman title in Germany and has multiple podium finishes in Hawaii! Pretty cool.

www.terenzo.com and www.cameronbrown.co.nz

How and why I have I been training with these guys..? Well Im not really. Just happen to park my car in the same place and happen to know some people that know some people although all these guys from my experience have been down to earth approachable guys. Ive managed to keep up in the warm up and short sprints although I was losing close to a minute and a half in the 15 min pieces this morning. Probably a bit out of my training zone but too good an opportunity to miss.

Some of the other highlights are riding just over 200k on Camerons wheel a few weeks back and motor pacing with Meshy Holt NZ womens 2009 road race and Time Trial champion. Once again a fair bit over my training zones but I dont really feel that its going to cost me the race.. its been an awesome experience to see how these guys train and hopefully glean some insights that I may be able to transfer back to my approach to kayak training. These guys really enjoy their training but are totally focused and know exactly what they are trying to achieve. Ive learnt some good stuff all in all. Now its time to ease back and taper with around 10 days to go.

Apologies for the slow turn around with the following update. As the old saying goes if you dont have anything good to say… then dont say it.

Beijing…. Without question I worked harder than I did before Athens. I am not going to be Politically Correct and say it was a great life experience and it was just neat being part of it all. It is all far to fresh and raw to have that kind of worldly perspective just yet. Hopefully in the future I will look back on the whole experience as a pivotal moment in my life and personal development but at this stage it feels closer to a kick in the nuts than the former. But as the saying in the first paragraph goes.. I will leave it there.

Over the Christmas season it was a time for family, rest and reflection. For me this time round I was grateful to have some quality time with my family without being concerned with training or how things were shaping up for my next competitive season.

Up until only a couple of weeks ago I had been paddling a lot and feel I was paddling at a very good level when I just stopped and it occurred to me that like Forrest Gump I had had enough for now and that a year out of the sport to decompress would be a good thing. So with a ton of fitness and a lack of desire to race kayaks the only logical thing to do was enter the New Zealand Ironman. For the uninitiated an Ironman involves a 3.8km swim, 180km cycle and a 42.2km run. I completed my first and only Ironman to this date back in March 2000 which happened to be on my 21st Birthday. My time was 10hrs and 27min. Basically around a 58min swim.5hr40ish Bike and 3hr45 run.

I still feel to this day that the Ironman is one of the most rewarding challenges that I have undertaken in my life. Without doubt in my mind had I not watched my best mate who I grew up with from the age of four complete the race in 1999 then I wouldn’t have gone on to have a go myself at this completely unreasonable challenge. Completing this completely unreasonable quest for self discovery opened my mind to the possibility that maybe I could achieve more in sport than I ever dreamed of. To be honest when I paid my 600 bucks at the time and mentioned to a few people that I was going to do the Ironman I really was unsure if it was possible for me to get close to finishing it. All I did know was that my parents had done the right thing and taught me to swim to save myself when I was a kid, I knew that anytime I had ridden over 100km I blew to pieces and that a marathon was a very worthy life time athletic achievement for anybody just on its own, not to mention after cycling 180km. Having to break this elephant down into bite size chunks taught me not only that a wetsuit for a hubbard swimmer can take 15minutes off your predicted swim time, and that a couple of chocolate coated muesli bars on a plus 3 hour ride doesn’t constitute nutrition but it also taught me that things that appeared unachievable might not be if I really applied myself and broke it down to bite sizes pieces that joined the gaping hole that was between my current place and where I could only dream of getting to. Unfortunately this was something that I wasnt taught at the very reputable school I went to that has a very proud academic, cultural and sporting history. At school it seemed where you were was where you were. There were many exceptional athletes and academics. I wasnt aware that with the right mindset I could have a piece of that pie too. The term working hard doesn’t give too many clues to a young person about how to goal set and work hard in pursuit of the goals. This is what the Ironman taught me in the year 2000 at the age of 21. By the end of 2003 I was a World Champion in an Olympic discipline having never entertained the idea of being an Olympian until after the Sydney Olympics. So the Ironman was and still is special to me. I had always told myself that I wouldn’t go back until I could really apply myself and try and crack the sub 9hr30m mark. Clearly this is not going to be realistic with just 5 weeks training…there could be an impressive detonation somewhere in the vicinity of the Taupo Airport on March the 7th this year.

As for not achieving my goals over the last four years I unfortunately dont have the answers for that. I do know that I was stronger in the gym, stronger aerobically in the longer sessions. But never felt in my racing that I could take that crucial step up when it counted that the best athletes can make. The final in Beijing was my best race all year but not enough. It has been suggested and I tend to agree that in pure desperation I spent too much time pushing above AT – Anaerobic threshold and therefore was left feeling flat.. who knows. Once you get to the top small things have an impact and it is not difficult to burn the cake. Intuitively I feel that I raced at a comparitive level to when I won Worlds in 2003 given my time 3.29 ( Gainesville 3.28.90), very similar water conditions – regarding no wind and water temperature. However this may just be just a case of cognitive dissonance afterall four years of ball busting regression is not an easy pill to swallow. After Athens my pbs went from 3.25.7 for the 1000 to 3.24.4 in 2006, also in 2006 I set a pb for 500m of 1.38 and this year a pb of 7.11 for 2km. So I prefer to think I developed as a paddler. As always the level has continued to climb, out of the 9 guys in the final 6 of them have Olympic medals, five of those people have gold ones too. Max Hoff is a World Wild Water Champion, Zoltan Benko is a European title holder and Stjepan Janic is a world medalist in K4. So all the paddlers in the final have proven they are champions at the highest level. I wonder if there were many other events at Beijing that could boast that sort of depth. A bad day and you would take a severe pounding.

So I will try and keep you posted as I progress closer to the big Ironman day.

All for now.