On NYE 2006, I had a lot to say. On NYE 2007, I don't. Words cannot begin to describe what an incredible, surprising & wonderful year I have had -
Monday, December 31, 2007
NYE 2007 - LG :-)
First and foremost, I would like to thank everyone who has taken the time to comment or email/PM me privately. I can't begin to describe how much your support, encouragement, advice, sponsorship & occasional laugh at my expense means to me. I wish you all the very best for 2008 - may it be full of happiness, laughter, injury-free training and much love.
On NYE 2006, I had a lot to say. On NYE 2007, I don't. Words cannot begin to describe what an incredible, surprising & wonderful year I have had -
On NYE 2006, I had a lot to say. On NYE 2007, I don't. Words cannot begin to describe what an incredible, surprising & wonderful year I have had -
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Eye of the Tiger
Today's theme song :-)
Still coughing but slowly returning to consistent training -
Friday
AM - 42mins bike session on the trainer in front of the telly (including lots of short AT intervals) before work
PM - physio exercises, core work & stretches
Saturday
AM - sleep-in :-) followed by a very warm 20mins walk, 15min run & stretching. My cough was a bit worse when I woke up this morning. I sounded a bit like Darth Vadar while running - nothing like a bit of heavy breathing first thing in the morning ;-)
PM - headed to the pool in the late afternoon for a (scenic) 1.8k swim in the 25m pool thanks to the outdoor (50m) pool being inundated by screaming children. Made a big change after last week when R & I were the only ones in the 50m pool because everyone else was scared off by the rain !
Sunday
AM - my first long ride in over a month (!). Headed up to the Glenbrook National Park with Apollo for 90mins on various trails. I was supposed to do 2 hrs but cut it short. It was nice to be out on the MTB again but my legs had nothing this morning. I think I need to eat a bit more before my long rides.
Tomorrow, it's back to work (yes, on NYE) before another self-inflicted strength session in the gym.
Thanks to 2 colds, various Christmas & engagement functions & 1 weekend of laziness, my totals for December are so pathetic I'm not even going to bother to add them up. Still, I've done my first tri this month - and again remained injury free for the 4th month in a row (woohoo!) - so it hasn't been a complete wasteland. It will be nice to get rid of this cough & get back into consistent training again, particularly as my goals for the second half of 2008 in particular will require the development of a greater base & much more strength....:-)
Still coughing but slowly returning to consistent training -
Friday
AM - 42mins bike session on the trainer in front of the telly (including lots of short AT intervals) before work
PM - physio exercises, core work & stretches
Saturday
AM - sleep-in :-) followed by a very warm 20mins walk, 15min run & stretching. My cough was a bit worse when I woke up this morning. I sounded a bit like Darth Vadar while running - nothing like a bit of heavy breathing first thing in the morning ;-)
PM - headed to the pool in the late afternoon for a (scenic) 1.8k swim in the 25m pool thanks to the outdoor (50m) pool being inundated by screaming children. Made a big change after last week when R & I were the only ones in the 50m pool because everyone else was scared off by the rain !
Sunday
AM - my first long ride in over a month (!). Headed up to the Glenbrook National Park with Apollo for 90mins on various trails. I was supposed to do 2 hrs but cut it short. It was nice to be out on the MTB again but my legs had nothing this morning. I think I need to eat a bit more before my long rides.
Tomorrow, it's back to work (yes, on NYE) before another self-inflicted strength session in the gym.
Thanks to 2 colds, various Christmas & engagement functions & 1 weekend of laziness, my totals for December are so pathetic I'm not even going to bother to add them up. Still, I've done my first tri this month - and again remained injury free for the 4th month in a row (woohoo!) - so it hasn't been a complete wasteland. It will be nice to get rid of this cough & get back into consistent training again, particularly as my goals for the second half of 2008 in particular will require the development of a greater base & much more strength....:-)
Friday, December 28, 2007
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Play toys
Christmas Day
Rest day - not to mention a wonderful day with my families new and old :-)
As requested, Santa kindly delivered a set of trekking poles and a Thermarest. Not your typical Christmas presents for a girl I know ;-)
Boxing Day
..became a rest day after I was awake half the night coughing up at least one & possibly both lungs.
Thursday
Back to work :-(
I almost skipped this session after a late night & early start - I caught the train to work from Shellharbour this morning after staying with R's family for a few days. But the prospect of doing my next tri on zero training since my last one forced my hand. My PT is on holidays at the moment so I headed to the gym at lunch for 15min run on the tready and strength session (40mins):
- lunges with pulses with front foot on bosu ball (6/8/10/12/10/8/6)
- 20 x single arm row
- 20 x bicep curl + shoulder press
- 20 x single leg deadlifts (with 2 x 4kg dumbbells)
- 20 x tri pushdowns
- stretching
Still coughing but getting better. Looking forward to getting back into the consistent training again.
Rest day - not to mention a wonderful day with my families new and old :-)
As requested, Santa kindly delivered a set of trekking poles and a Thermarest. Not your typical Christmas presents for a girl I know ;-)
Boxing Day
..became a rest day after I was awake half the night coughing up at least one & possibly both lungs.
Thursday
Back to work :-(
I almost skipped this session after a late night & early start - I caught the train to work from Shellharbour this morning after staying with R's family for a few days. But the prospect of doing my next tri on zero training since my last one forced my hand. My PT is on holidays at the moment so I headed to the gym at lunch for 15min run on the tready and strength session (40mins):
- lunges with pulses with front foot on bosu ball (6/8/10/12/10/8/6)
- 20 x single arm row
- 20 x bicep curl + shoulder press
- 20 x single leg deadlifts (with 2 x 4kg dumbbells)
- 20 x tri pushdowns
- stretching
Still coughing but getting better. Looking forward to getting back into the consistent training again.
Monday, December 24, 2007
T'was the afternoon before Christmas....
And I'm home after a 1/2 day at work. The Christmas shopping has long been finished, my mum & nan are in the kitchen whipping up a storm, organising our traditional Christmas Eve seafood extravaganza and R and the Mini Mango are on their way over to spend Christmas Eve & Christmas morning with us. Amazing to think how life has changed for me in the course of a year - Mango & I hadn't even met this time last year. Now I have a fiance - not to mention a step-daughter-to-be, a scary prospect for someone who has never wanted children of her own. But I have been very blessed with a wonderful step-daughter-to-be (R isn't bad either ;-)) and I wouldn't have it any other way. Happy days :-)
The last few days have been a write-off for me so far as training is concerned. Wednesday afternoon I started coming down with a nasty head cold which has pretty much floored me since then. The only sessions I have done since my bike session on Wednesday morning was a (scenic) 1.6k swim on Saturday afternoon in the rain (I love swimming in the rain, almost as much as I love running in it) and a PT session (60mins) this morning -
- 5min w/u
- 24 x walking lunges with one 4kg dumbbell extended overhead.
- lunges with front foot on a bosu ball with pulses on a ladder structure (6/8/10/12/10/8/6) for each leg. Each set followed by what was supposed to explosive step up onto a bench
- 20 x lying oblique twisting thingy with a 3kg medicine ball
- 20 x core exercise I can't begin to describe with a 4kg medicine ball
- 20 x single (right) leg deadlifts with bicep curl & shoulder press (2 x 4kg dumbbells)
- 10 x right leg thigh kicks (my first kickboxing experience)
- alternating thigh kicks with push-ups up to 10 - ie 1 kick, 1 push-up, 2 thigh kicks, 2 push-ups etc. By the time I got to 8 it was bloody hard work !
- 20 x core exercise I can't begin to describe with 1 x 4kg dumbbell extended overhead
- 20 x lying oblique twisting thingy with a 3kg medicine ball
- 20 x single (left) leg deadlifts with bicep curl & shoulder presses (2 x 4kg dumbbells)
- plank
- stretches
Phew.
My training in December has been terribly inconsistent. I haven't done a long ride in a month now (yikes!). But hopefully with another day's rest tomorrow, I should be close to fully recovered and ready to get stuck into it (consistently) again.
I hope everyone has a wonderful & merry Christmas & that your day is filled with family, friends, joy, happiness & much love. I know mine will be :-)
The last few days have been a write-off for me so far as training is concerned. Wednesday afternoon I started coming down with a nasty head cold which has pretty much floored me since then. The only sessions I have done since my bike session on Wednesday morning was a (scenic) 1.6k swim on Saturday afternoon in the rain (I love swimming in the rain, almost as much as I love running in it) and a PT session (60mins) this morning -
- 5min w/u
- 24 x walking lunges with one 4kg dumbbell extended overhead.
- lunges with front foot on a bosu ball with pulses on a ladder structure (6/8/10/12/10/8/6) for each leg. Each set followed by what was supposed to explosive step up onto a bench
- 20 x lying oblique twisting thingy with a 3kg medicine ball
- 20 x core exercise I can't begin to describe with a 4kg medicine ball
- 20 x single (right) leg deadlifts with bicep curl & shoulder press (2 x 4kg dumbbells)
- 10 x right leg thigh kicks (my first kickboxing experience)
- alternating thigh kicks with push-ups up to 10 - ie 1 kick, 1 push-up, 2 thigh kicks, 2 push-ups etc. By the time I got to 8 it was bloody hard work !
- 20 x core exercise I can't begin to describe with 1 x 4kg dumbbell extended overhead
- 20 x lying oblique twisting thingy with a 3kg medicine ball
- 20 x single (left) leg deadlifts with bicep curl & shoulder presses (2 x 4kg dumbbells)
- plank
- stretches
Phew.
My training in December has been terribly inconsistent. I haven't done a long ride in a month now (yikes!). But hopefully with another day's rest tomorrow, I should be close to fully recovered and ready to get stuck into it (consistently) again.
I hope everyone has a wonderful & merry Christmas & that your day is filled with family, friends, joy, happiness & much love. I know mine will be :-)
Friday, December 21, 2007
Drafting
Righto. My draft list of events for the first half of 2008 is now listed over ==>
As I said previously it's a rather eclectic mix of trail runs, "aquathons", MTB races, triathlons & adventure races. It is only a draft list at this stage as a few race dates - and a few other events I have my eye on - haven't been announced yet. None of them are really 'key' races for me. More like a prelude to the second half of 2008 & early 2009 :-)
As I said previously it's a rather eclectic mix of trail runs, "aquathons", MTB races, triathlons & adventure races. It is only a draft list at this stage as a few race dates - and a few other events I have my eye on - haven't been announced yet. None of them are really 'key' races for me. More like a prelude to the second half of 2008 & early 2009 :-)
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Wicked games
Wow! Thanks for all the comments & SMS' people. Much appreciated :-)
No rest for the wicked as they say. I pulled up extremely well after my tri debut on Sunday. Both soleus (sp?) are a bit tight at the moment - though I suspect it has more to do with the number of times I've been wearing high heels (thanks to various Christmas-related functions) in recent weeks than my training as I rarely wear them anymore. Hopefully with lots of stretching & the number of Christmas-related functions dwindling, it should improve quickly.
Monday
AM - 60mins PT session
I said to R over the weekend that I almost dread sessions with the PT because they are so damn hard. This session was no exception -
- 5mins run w/u
- lunges with pulses on a ladder structure (6/8/10/12) with 4kg dumbbell (5sec recovery).
- 20 x squats with a bicep curl & shoulder press (4kg dumbbell)
- 20 x push-ups with 1 hand on a bosu ball (15 of them on my toes)
- 20 x chest flyes on the swiss ball (4kg dumbbell)
- 20 x push-ups with 1 hand on a bosu ball (on knees)
- 20 x a core exercise I can't begin to name or describe
- 5mins run
- lunges with pulses on a ladder structure (6/8/10/12/10/8/6).
- core (jackknife & plank)
- stretches
O.M.G.
Tuesday
AM - took the extra sleep option this morning after getting in late after a lovely dinner with Mouse & NTR (*waves*). Good idea too as even with the extra sleep I had a lil bit of a sore throat during the day
PM - back to the pool for a (scenic) 1.2k swim. I felt pretty heavy in the water tonight. My chest & shoulders in particular are rather sore after yesterday's PT session which made the 'firm' efforts bloody hard work.
Wednesday
AM - up at 4.30am for a 45mins bike session including a total of 20mins at AT. Ouch.
Another PT session tomorrow morning. Oh man, I'm still sore from Monday's session. Is it too early to think about the weekend? All of my client's believe the world is going to end at 5pm on Christmas Eve….ai ai ai.
No rest for the wicked as they say. I pulled up extremely well after my tri debut on Sunday. Both soleus (sp?) are a bit tight at the moment - though I suspect it has more to do with the number of times I've been wearing high heels (thanks to various Christmas-related functions) in recent weeks than my training as I rarely wear them anymore. Hopefully with lots of stretching & the number of Christmas-related functions dwindling, it should improve quickly.
Monday
AM - 60mins PT session
I said to R over the weekend that I almost dread sessions with the PT because they are so damn hard. This session was no exception -
- 5mins run w/u
- lunges with pulses on a ladder structure (6/8/10/12) with 4kg dumbbell (5sec recovery).
- 20 x squats with a bicep curl & shoulder press (4kg dumbbell)
- 20 x push-ups with 1 hand on a bosu ball (15 of them on my toes)
- 20 x chest flyes on the swiss ball (4kg dumbbell)
- 20 x push-ups with 1 hand on a bosu ball (on knees)
- 20 x a core exercise I can't begin to name or describe
- 5mins run
- lunges with pulses on a ladder structure (6/8/10/12/10/8/6).
- core (jackknife & plank)
- stretches
O.M.G.
Tuesday
AM - took the extra sleep option this morning after getting in late after a lovely dinner with Mouse & NTR (*waves*). Good idea too as even with the extra sleep I had a lil bit of a sore throat during the day
PM - back to the pool for a (scenic) 1.2k swim. I felt pretty heavy in the water tonight. My chest & shoulders in particular are rather sore after yesterday's PT session which made the 'firm' efforts bloody hard work.
Wednesday
AM - up at 4.30am for a 45mins bike session including a total of 20mins at AT. Ouch.
Another PT session tomorrow morning. Oh man, I'm still sore from Monday's session. Is it too early to think about the weekend? All of my client's believe the world is going to end at 5pm on Christmas Eve….ai ai ai.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Tri-ing
Well, I've finally done it. My first triathlon - not to mention my first race since the Great Nosh in June!
It is incredible to to think what has changed in my life since then :-) After Team Mango has had so many outings lately, it was time for Team Jen Jen (ie Mango) to step up to the role of cheerleader & official photographer today. And what a great job he did, thank you :-)
Today's club race was a memorial for a former club president who was killed in a training accident in 1999 so the format & distances were a bit 'different'. The short course race, which I did, was 200m swim, 10k ride & 2k run. The long course was 200/10/2/200/10/2. Ouch. The morning finished with breakfast - bacon & egg rolls. Perfect recovery food :-) .
I must say that I wasn't nervous about this race until I got in the water. The swim was ok. I had a 'moment'. Not a panic attack. I didn't hit or get hit. But at one stage very early, I felt claustrophobic & probably went out too fast. So to calm down, I started breathing every second stroke - which of course meant I went veering off towards the shore. Note to self - keep an eye on the buoy next time. Anyway, I got myself back on track & got out of the water in about 5 mins. Unfortunately I forgot to turn my watch on so I only have estimates of the splits.
* It's not your eyes. The photo is slightly blurry.
T1 was a bit too, um, leisurely. I felt a bit light headed when I bent over to put my shoes on.
I made a slow start on the bike as I couldn't get my foot into the cleat and so was quickly passed by another woman. I later caught her :-) It was a handicapped start so the girls had a 5 min head start over the boys. My uncle, who was doing the long course race, must have been slacking because he only passed me not long before I got off the bike ;-)
Onto the run & my legs felt heavy (as expected) so I just focused on my form & keeping my abs on. It took me about 500m before I started to settle into the run. 'High 5ing' my uncle as he went back past me on the run distracted me for a minute. I finished the 2k in about 13mins (which included T2) which I'm very happy with given that 6:30m/k is my current 'training pace' - not to mention the fact that I haven't run further than 2k since July!!
So I finished in 40:57 - far exceedingly R's estimate of 45mins and my estimate of 50mins :-)
From Black Stump to Six Foot to this - what a year it has been !
It is incredible to to think what has changed in my life since then :-) After Team Mango has had so many outings lately, it was time for Team Jen Jen (ie Mango) to step up to the role of cheerleader & official photographer today. And what a great job he did, thank you :-)
Today's club race was a memorial for a former club president who was killed in a training accident in 1999 so the format & distances were a bit 'different'. The short course race, which I did, was 200m swim, 10k ride & 2k run. The long course was 200/10/2/200/10/2. Ouch. The morning finished with breakfast - bacon & egg rolls. Perfect recovery food :-) .
I must say that I wasn't nervous about this race until I got in the water. The swim was ok. I had a 'moment'. Not a panic attack. I didn't hit or get hit. But at one stage very early, I felt claustrophobic & probably went out too fast. So to calm down, I started breathing every second stroke - which of course meant I went veering off towards the shore. Note to self - keep an eye on the buoy next time. Anyway, I got myself back on track & got out of the water in about 5 mins. Unfortunately I forgot to turn my watch on so I only have estimates of the splits.
* It's not your eyes. The photo is slightly blurry.
T1 was a bit too, um, leisurely. I felt a bit light headed when I bent over to put my shoes on.
I made a slow start on the bike as I couldn't get my foot into the cleat and so was quickly passed by another woman. I later caught her :-) It was a handicapped start so the girls had a 5 min head start over the boys. My uncle, who was doing the long course race, must have been slacking because he only passed me not long before I got off the bike ;-)
Onto the run & my legs felt heavy (as expected) so I just focused on my form & keeping my abs on. It took me about 500m before I started to settle into the run. 'High 5ing' my uncle as he went back past me on the run distracted me for a minute. I finished the 2k in about 13mins (which included T2) which I'm very happy with given that 6:30m/k is my current 'training pace' - not to mention the fact that I haven't run further than 2k since July!!
So I finished in 40:57 - far exceedingly R's estimate of 45mins and my estimate of 50mins :-)
From Black Stump to Six Foot to this - what a year it has been !
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Cross training
Thursday
AM - PT session (60mins)
Monday's session with the PT smashed my legs. I still had some DOMS in my quads so with that, and Sunday, in mind, my PT mercifully took it reasonably easy on me. "Reasonable" of course is a relative term -
- 5mins run w/u
- side step lunges while raising a kettle ball with straight arms over my head til failure
- 10mins ride/5mins run brick
- walking lunges with a bicep curl & shoulder press with dumbbells while at the lowest point of the lunge til failure
- 10mins ride/5mins run brick
- stretches
Phew.
PM - the most important part of my training all week - socialising :-) Caught up with Rags (*waves*) over lunch & heard all his tales from his recent trip back to Nepal. I also took delivery of a couple of books he had kindly picked up for me from my favourite bookshop in the whole world. Thank you :-) And then after work it was off to the classy establishment that is the James Squires for CR drinks.
Friday
Had a 30mins easy spin planned but it ended up being a rest day due to a late night as well as work & shopping getting in the way of a lunchtime visit to the gym. It is probably a good thing because I had a bit of a niggle in my right hip flexor after yesterday's session with the PT.
Saturday
AM - 4 hours of cross training - Christmas shopping. Between a late night (work Christmas party) at the end of a long & tiring week & an early morning today to beat the crush at the shops, I'm completely stuffed this afternoon. Might go out for a short walk followed by a long stretch when it cools down.
Still not feeling particularly enthusiastic about tomorrow's little adventure but I bought myself my first one piece tri suit on Thursday (and no, there will be no photos) so I s'pose I'd better get some use out of it ;-)
AM - PT session (60mins)
Monday's session with the PT smashed my legs. I still had some DOMS in my quads so with that, and Sunday, in mind, my PT mercifully took it reasonably easy on me. "Reasonable" of course is a relative term -
- 5mins run w/u
- side step lunges while raising a kettle ball with straight arms over my head til failure
- 10mins ride/5mins run brick
- walking lunges with a bicep curl & shoulder press with dumbbells while at the lowest point of the lunge til failure
- 10mins ride/5mins run brick
- stretches
Phew.
PM - the most important part of my training all week - socialising :-) Caught up with Rags (*waves*) over lunch & heard all his tales from his recent trip back to Nepal. I also took delivery of a couple of books he had kindly picked up for me from my favourite bookshop in the whole world. Thank you :-) And then after work it was off to the classy establishment that is the James Squires for CR drinks.
Friday
Had a 30mins easy spin planned but it ended up being a rest day due to a late night as well as work & shopping getting in the way of a lunchtime visit to the gym. It is probably a good thing because I had a bit of a niggle in my right hip flexor after yesterday's session with the PT.
Saturday
AM - 4 hours of cross training - Christmas shopping. Between a late night (work Christmas party) at the end of a long & tiring week & an early morning today to beat the crush at the shops, I'm completely stuffed this afternoon. Might go out for a short walk followed by a long stretch when it cools down.
Still not feeling particularly enthusiastic about tomorrow's little adventure but I bought myself my first one piece tri suit on Thursday (and no, there will be no photos) so I s'pose I'd better get some use out of it ;-)
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Running on empty...
That's me this week. If I don't get enough sleep on Sunday & Monday nights, I'm stuffed for the rest of the week. I just can't catch up. Mike, my PT, wants me to try & get 8 hours sleep each night. Tell 'em his dreaming I say. I'm probably lucky to get 6 each night which is enough to keep functioning without falling asleep at my desk but perhaps not the best for recovery purposes. Thankfully the Christmas-related events ease off next week...
Monday
AM - killer PT session (60mins). I've never had my legs actually refuse to work before. My brain was saying to them 'take a step forward'. All they could in response was hold me up - just. Aside from some of the days trekking in the Himalayas, I think it was one of the hardest sessions I've ever done.
- 5mins run w/u
- 2 x supersets of:
(a) lunges with 'pulses' at the bottom on a ladder structure - ie 6/8/10/12/10/8/6 - each set finished with what was supposed to be an explosive step up onto a bench - let's just say that I was lucky to be able to step at all by the end of the session; and
(b) split jump lunges
- 10mins ride/5mins run brick session
- core (jack knife & plank)
- stretching
ET was training in the gym at the same time, saw me running on the treadmill & gave me some very encouraging feedback on my running style, form & stability. It's nice to know the hard work is (finally) paying off
Tuesday
AM - (scenic) 20mins walk + 15mins run. It's getting easier. Kinda. Sorta.
PM - managed to escape work at a decent hour & headed to the pool for my swim. 1.3k swim including 3 x 300m efforts with 60sec recovery. I felt ok, not great, in the water tonight. But the nasty dark clouds overhead kept me moving because I dreaded the thought of having to move into the busy indoor pool in the event of a thunderstorm.
Wednesday
AM - my legs are still sore after Monday's session with the PT. Thankfully I had a relatively easy 32:30min bike session in front of the telly this morning including 10 x 45sec efforts/10 sec recovery.
PM - massage
And no, Bro - not the Seven Summits. Only some of them. And a few others :-)
Monday
AM - killer PT session (60mins). I've never had my legs actually refuse to work before. My brain was saying to them 'take a step forward'. All they could in response was hold me up - just. Aside from some of the days trekking in the Himalayas, I think it was one of the hardest sessions I've ever done.
- 5mins run w/u
- 2 x supersets of:
(a) lunges with 'pulses' at the bottom on a ladder structure - ie 6/8/10/12/10/8/6 - each set finished with what was supposed to be an explosive step up onto a bench - let's just say that I was lucky to be able to step at all by the end of the session; and
(b) split jump lunges
- 10mins ride/5mins run brick session
- core (jack knife & plank)
- stretching
ET was training in the gym at the same time, saw me running on the treadmill & gave me some very encouraging feedback on my running style, form & stability. It's nice to know the hard work is (finally) paying off
Tuesday
AM - (scenic) 20mins walk + 15mins run. It's getting easier. Kinda. Sorta.
PM - managed to escape work at a decent hour & headed to the pool for my swim. 1.3k swim including 3 x 300m efforts with 60sec recovery. I felt ok, not great, in the water tonight. But the nasty dark clouds overhead kept me moving because I dreaded the thought of having to move into the busy indoor pool in the event of a thunderstorm.
Wednesday
AM - my legs are still sore after Monday's session with the PT. Thankfully I had a relatively easy 32:30min bike session in front of the telly this morning including 10 x 45sec efforts/10 sec recovery.
PM - massage
And no, Bro - not the Seven Summits. Only some of them. And a few others :-)
Sunday, December 09, 2007
Climbing the walls...
Thursday
AM - up early again for another PT session (60mins). I'm convinced he is trying to make my legs fall off -
- 5min run w/u
- 3 x supersets of lunges with bicep curl & split jumps (ai ai ai)
- 10min ride/5mins run - my first brick session!
- core stuff (jack knife & plant) x 2
- loads of stretching.
Friday
AM - Our firm's client christmas party was held last night so I stayed at a friend's place in Marrickville - which of course meant that I got to sleep-in until, wait for it, 5.45am and still do my session before work. Woohoo! 30mins on the bike in the gym this morning including 10mins of 30/30s. Though not sore, my legs were feeling pretty fatigued after yesterday's session.
Saturday
AM - after a loooong sleep-in, I went out for a 20mins walk + 15mins run
PM - headed to the pool just after 3pm for a (scenic) 1.6k swim. I felt really tired during the session & almost cut it short but managed to pushed through & finish the session reasonably well.
Sunday
Um, let's just say that a combination of a late night after another engagement celebratory dinner, dehydration & a couple of hours of work that I needed to do gave me more than enough excuses for skip my 2hr ride today. Yes, I was being lazy. The day didn't end so well when golf ball sized hall from Sydney's freak thunderstorm this afternoon rearranged most of my car's panels :-(
I'm supposed to be doing an enticer next weekend (my first tri) but I have to admit that I'm feeling rather blase about it. I have just finished a great book by an inspiring lady. Called To the Summit, it is about the author's journey from a world of multiple addictions (coke, food, alcohol, laxatives) on her discovery of mountain climbing & her attempt to climb the Seven Summits; the highest peaks on each of the seven continents. Her book has also made me realise a few things in relation to (shall we say) my future athletic pursuits. I am beginning to realise that perhaps tris - and running to an extent - are simply a means to an end...
AM - up early again for another PT session (60mins). I'm convinced he is trying to make my legs fall off -
- 5min run w/u
- 3 x supersets of lunges with bicep curl & split jumps (ai ai ai)
- 10min ride/5mins run - my first brick session!
- core stuff (jack knife & plant) x 2
- loads of stretching.
Friday
AM - Our firm's client christmas party was held last night so I stayed at a friend's place in Marrickville - which of course meant that I got to sleep-in until, wait for it, 5.45am and still do my session before work. Woohoo! 30mins on the bike in the gym this morning including 10mins of 30/30s. Though not sore, my legs were feeling pretty fatigued after yesterday's session.
Saturday
AM - after a loooong sleep-in, I went out for a 20mins walk + 15mins run
PM - headed to the pool just after 3pm for a (scenic) 1.6k swim. I felt really tired during the session & almost cut it short but managed to pushed through & finish the session reasonably well.
Sunday
Um, let's just say that a combination of a late night after another engagement celebratory dinner, dehydration & a couple of hours of work that I needed to do gave me more than enough excuses for skip my 2hr ride today. Yes, I was being lazy. The day didn't end so well when golf ball sized hall from Sydney's freak thunderstorm this afternoon rearranged most of my car's panels :-(
I'm supposed to be doing an enticer next weekend (my first tri) but I have to admit that I'm feeling rather blase about it. I have just finished a great book by an inspiring lady. Called To the Summit, it is about the author's journey from a world of multiple addictions (coke, food, alcohol, laxatives) on her discovery of mountain climbing & her attempt to climb the Seven Summits; the highest peaks on each of the seven continents. Her book has also made me realise a few things in relation to (shall we say) my future athletic pursuits. I am beginning to realise that perhaps tris - and running to an extent - are simply a means to an end...
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
And so it goes....
Thank you soooo much to everyone for your lovely comments, emails and SMS' over the course of the last week - we both really treasure your sentiments. Although I must say that we were thinking about a tropical island wedding so I don't think we'll go with either the Rottnest or Sydney Marathon suggestions (thanks anyway guys!) ;-)
I had better get off cloud nine (for a little while) and get the blogging back up to date. November, as a whole, was a pretty amazing month. I find it hard to believe that the Sydney to Gong ride was only a month ago!
Oct: 10k swim + 213k bike + NFI run
Nov: 7k swim + 123k bike + NFI-but-more-than-last-month run
The totals were a bit down thanks to a mini-taper before, and recovering from, the Gong ride, getting out on the MTB instead of the roadie for my long rides & Brampton Island :-) And once again, the bike total only includes my weekend long rides - stoopid cadence sensor. Still, I have another fun & injury free month of training up my sleeve!
As for the last few days since I got back from Brampton -
Wednesday
Rest day. Had a ride planned but catching up with my mum after our little announcement took priority
Thursday
Back to work :-(
AM - PT session (60mins). Lots of lunges, set ups, split jumps, squats followed by a bit of chest & back work & stretching. Nasty. My only consolation is that he hasn't killed me (yet) so I must be getting stronger!
Friday
AM - 50mins steady ride on Betty including 5 x 1mins hills. Felt exhausted & lethargic during this session and for the rest of the day.
Saturday & Sunday
Had a run, swim, & ride planned but both days became rest days when I discovered why I was so tired on Friday - I woke up with a bad head cold, feeling utterly shattered despite having over 10 hours sleep. So I called it a 'rest weekend' and, apart from a celebratory dinner on Saturday night, spend the weekend curled up on the couch watching TV & reading.
Monday
AM - PT session (60mins) again. I was feeling a little better after my weekend of rest but still rather ordinary so my PT kindly took it easy on me - that didn't stop my legs from feeling like jelly when I walked down the stairs afterwards. It was all about the barbell during this session - lots of deadlifts, clean & presses & bent over rows followed by core work & stretching.
Tuesday
AM - 20mins walk + 12:30mins run. Things are going well.
PM - back in the pool doing laps for the first time in 2 weeks for another (scenic) 1.3k swim. I was expecting to feel a bit ordinary during this session given my length of time out of the pool but felt pretty good - well, except for the fact that my arms wanted to fall off after the PT session on Monday & ET getting stuck into my shoulders during my massage earlier in the day.
Wednesday
AM - up at 4:(freakn)20 this morning for my ride - a 50mins session on Betty with lots of grindy gears & low cadence sets. Tough but I felt surprisingly good.
Energy levels are high again after my cold & despite some early mornings & late nights this week thanks to work. Long may it continue !
I had better get off cloud nine (for a little while) and get the blogging back up to date. November, as a whole, was a pretty amazing month. I find it hard to believe that the Sydney to Gong ride was only a month ago!
Oct: 10k swim + 213k bike + NFI run
Nov: 7k swim + 123k bike + NFI-but-more-than-last-month run
The totals were a bit down thanks to a mini-taper before, and recovering from, the Gong ride, getting out on the MTB instead of the roadie for my long rides & Brampton Island :-) And once again, the bike total only includes my weekend long rides - stoopid cadence sensor. Still, I have another fun & injury free month of training up my sleeve!
As for the last few days since I got back from Brampton -
Wednesday
Rest day. Had a ride planned but catching up with my mum after our little announcement took priority
Thursday
Back to work :-(
AM - PT session (60mins). Lots of lunges, set ups, split jumps, squats followed by a bit of chest & back work & stretching. Nasty. My only consolation is that he hasn't killed me (yet) so I must be getting stronger!
Friday
AM - 50mins steady ride on Betty including 5 x 1mins hills. Felt exhausted & lethargic during this session and for the rest of the day.
Saturday & Sunday
Had a run, swim, & ride planned but both days became rest days when I discovered why I was so tired on Friday - I woke up with a bad head cold, feeling utterly shattered despite having over 10 hours sleep. So I called it a 'rest weekend' and, apart from a celebratory dinner on Saturday night, spend the weekend curled up on the couch watching TV & reading.
Monday
AM - PT session (60mins) again. I was feeling a little better after my weekend of rest but still rather ordinary so my PT kindly took it easy on me - that didn't stop my legs from feeling like jelly when I walked down the stairs afterwards. It was all about the barbell during this session - lots of deadlifts, clean & presses & bent over rows followed by core work & stretching.
Tuesday
AM - 20mins walk + 12:30mins run. Things are going well.
PM - back in the pool doing laps for the first time in 2 weeks for another (scenic) 1.3k swim. I was expecting to feel a bit ordinary during this session given my length of time out of the pool but felt pretty good - well, except for the fact that my arms wanted to fall off after the PT session on Monday & ET getting stuck into my shoulders during my massage earlier in the day.
Wednesday
AM - up at 4:(freakn)20 this morning for my ride - a 50mins session on Betty with lots of grindy gears & low cadence sets. Tough but I felt surprisingly good.
Energy levels are high again after my cold & despite some early mornings & late nights this week thanks to work. Long may it continue !
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
LG
Just back from a wonderful 4 days on Brampton Island.
It wasn't all buffet meals, cocktails by the ocean and 8 course degustation meals. We swam, sea kayaked over to a neighbouring island which was actually very hard work thanks to a strong current and walked the very hilly 8.9k of trails through the national park around the island.
I've come back feeling very rested, relaxed & ready to get stuck into my work & training - oh, and engaged, extremely happy & planning an island wedding in about 2 years time :-D
LG
It wasn't all buffet meals, cocktails by the ocean and 8 course degustation meals. We swam, sea kayaked over to a neighbouring island which was actually very hard work thanks to a strong current and walked the very hilly 8.9k of trails through the national park around the island.
I've come back feeling very rested, relaxed & ready to get stuck into my work & training - oh, and engaged, extremely happy & planning an island wedding in about 2 years time :-D
LG
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Another week, another holiday :-)
Another good week of training. I love consistent - not to mention, injury free -training !
Monday
AM - headed into FF in the city for my 7am meeting with my new PT for a short fitness assessment (yikes!) & to have a chat about my injuries & goal races. I'm impressed so far. He's very keen to speak with & work closely with my physio - man I love it when health providers work together! Afterwards I did my usual physio-ordered gym session.
Tuesday
AM - 20mins walk + 10mins run. Unlike last Tuesday, I actually did this session at a more even pace so it didn't hurt so much. I've got a long way to go but gee it's nice to out there watching the sunrise again.
PM - back to the pool for another scenic 1.55k swim. I felt reasonably good in the water - a bit unco to start with but I eventually got into the swing of things
Wednesday
Massage this morning. Otherwise it became a rest day. I had a ride scheduled for the evening but as I'm out of the office for the next 5 days (thanks to a 2 day conference + holiday), work had to take precedence today :-(
Thursday
AM - back into the gym this morning for a 12:30min run on the treadmill - my longest in almost 5 months! - before my first (60mins) PT session. Yikes. It was bloody hard work - my legs, chest, back & core all felt like jelly afterwards. But I know that the hard work will quickly pay off. Thankfully I got to sit on my butt at a conference for the rest of the day!
I have a 56mins interval session on Betty tomorrow (Friday) morning. Then after work tomorrow night, its off to a hotel in the city for the night before an early flight on Saturday to Brampton Island. TA has kindly cleared the training program for the time I am away so I can do as much - or as little - as I like. Bring on the cocktails :-)
Monday
AM - headed into FF in the city for my 7am meeting with my new PT for a short fitness assessment (yikes!) & to have a chat about my injuries & goal races. I'm impressed so far. He's very keen to speak with & work closely with my physio - man I love it when health providers work together! Afterwards I did my usual physio-ordered gym session.
Tuesday
AM - 20mins walk + 10mins run. Unlike last Tuesday, I actually did this session at a more even pace so it didn't hurt so much. I've got a long way to go but gee it's nice to out there watching the sunrise again.
PM - back to the pool for another scenic 1.55k swim. I felt reasonably good in the water - a bit unco to start with but I eventually got into the swing of things
Wednesday
Massage this morning. Otherwise it became a rest day. I had a ride scheduled for the evening but as I'm out of the office for the next 5 days (thanks to a 2 day conference + holiday), work had to take precedence today :-(
Thursday
AM - back into the gym this morning for a 12:30min run on the treadmill - my longest in almost 5 months! - before my first (60mins) PT session. Yikes. It was bloody hard work - my legs, chest, back & core all felt like jelly afterwards. But I know that the hard work will quickly pay off. Thankfully I got to sit on my butt at a conference for the rest of the day!
I have a 56mins interval session on Betty tomorrow (Friday) morning. Then after work tomorrow night, its off to a hotel in the city for the night before an early flight on Saturday to Brampton Island. TA has kindly cleared the training program for the time I am away so I can do as much - or as little - as I like. Bring on the cocktails :-)
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Hot, hot, hot
Man, it was hot this weekend. And tiring!
Friday night, I crawled into bed after 12am after having to deal with a few emails from a client in the UK. Fortunately I was able to get out of the conference call that was proposed for 3pm UK time - 2am here !
Saturday
AM - after a mini sleep-in, I went out for a 20min walk and 7:30min run. It's getting easier each day!
PM - a 1.9k swim including 8 x 50m hard and 6 x 25m flatout. Yikes. I have to admit that I was dreading this session. I had forgot to put sunscreen on before leaving home so took the sensible, skin-friendly approach of doing this session in the indoor 25min pool. This had the added benefit of being a tri swim simulation as I had kids trying to dart across the lane ahead - or under - me. I only got kicked once. And kicked once :-)
After a quick shower, it was down to the Regatta Centre to watch the Mini Mango make her triathlon debut! Between you & me, I think her dad was more nervous than she was.
Sunday
After a terrible sleep, I was really dragging my feet this morning as we headed back down to the Regatta Centre (thankfully it's less than 5mins from home!), this time to watch R do the Nepean Tri and catch up with family & friends. It was bloody hot down there - combined with the flies in plague proportion, it wasn't the most comfortable morning for cheering. Still, we had fun as always!
Once again, I didn't have enough to eat during the day (something I did on Saturday as well) so we left while the presentation ceremony was on as my blood sugar level had plummeted. Even after a bowl of pasta & a crumpet with honey, I felt like curling up & having a nana nap. But I didn’t - I headed for the Glenbrook National Park with Apollo for my long ride. It was hot, humid & still in the park - ick! I spent 90min on the Oaks & Red Hands fire trails. I took it pretty easy – my energy levels were still pretty low & I’m still getting used to handling the MTB on the varying surfaces – not to mention disc brakes.
Off to bed now. I’m feeling pretty shattered & I have a PT session in the city at 7am tomorrow. Yawn.
Friday night, I crawled into bed after 12am after having to deal with a few emails from a client in the UK. Fortunately I was able to get out of the conference call that was proposed for 3pm UK time - 2am here !
Saturday
AM - after a mini sleep-in, I went out for a 20min walk and 7:30min run. It's getting easier each day!
PM - a 1.9k swim including 8 x 50m hard and 6 x 25m flatout. Yikes. I have to admit that I was dreading this session. I had forgot to put sunscreen on before leaving home so took the sensible, skin-friendly approach of doing this session in the indoor 25min pool. This had the added benefit of being a tri swim simulation as I had kids trying to dart across the lane ahead - or under - me. I only got kicked once. And kicked once :-)
After a quick shower, it was down to the Regatta Centre to watch the Mini Mango make her triathlon debut! Between you & me, I think her dad was more nervous than she was.
Sunday
After a terrible sleep, I was really dragging my feet this morning as we headed back down to the Regatta Centre (thankfully it's less than 5mins from home!), this time to watch R do the Nepean Tri and catch up with family & friends. It was bloody hot down there - combined with the flies in plague proportion, it wasn't the most comfortable morning for cheering. Still, we had fun as always!
Once again, I didn't have enough to eat during the day (something I did on Saturday as well) so we left while the presentation ceremony was on as my blood sugar level had plummeted. Even after a bowl of pasta & a crumpet with honey, I felt like curling up & having a nana nap. But I didn’t - I headed for the Glenbrook National Park with Apollo for my long ride. It was hot, humid & still in the park - ick! I spent 90min on the Oaks & Red Hands fire trails. I took it pretty easy – my energy levels were still pretty low & I’m still getting used to handling the MTB on the varying surfaces – not to mention disc brakes.
Off to bed now. I’m feeling pretty shattered & I have a PT session in the city at 7am tomorrow. Yawn.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Juggernaut
Just keeps rolling along - happy days :-)
Monday
Rest
Tuesday
AM - 20mins walk + 7:30mins run. Man, it was hard work. Probably because I suspect I started a wee bit too fast. But gosh it's nice to be out & running before dawn again!
PM - massage at lunch. Then gym session + a (scenic) 1.4k swim including 10 x 100m efforts with variable rests. The swim was pretty ugly. I felt like the wheels were turning but I wasn't making any forward progress - in fact, I may have been going backwards. Though I didn't have much to eat in the afternoon which probably didn't help the case.
Wednesday
AM - interval session on Betty (6 x 2min hard/1min spin) before work. Talk about dead legs.
Thursday
AM - headed out for a (scenic) 20mins walk around beautiful Rooty Hill and - wait for it - 10mins run! My longest run in over 4 months now - woohoo! But geez, I'm unfit. I've certainly lost my running fitness - thankfully I know it will come back quickly :-D
I saw the physio at lunch today. He is really pleased with how things are progressing. I've got the ok to increase the distances and big plans to shake up the strengthening work (which I'm really excited about - I'm a weights junkie at heart) so I've joined FF & am meeting with a PT on Monday.
Friday
AM - 40mins tempo ride on Betty.
PM - gym session
Thanks to a few belated donations, I've now raised $1,470 for MS Australia as part of the Gong ride which has more than exceeded my 'lofty' goal. I don't suppose anyone wants to make a further contribution & push it over $1,500?? I'm persistent, I know ;-)
One week tomorrow until Brampton Island - woohoo !
Monday
Rest
Tuesday
AM - 20mins walk + 7:30mins run. Man, it was hard work. Probably because I suspect I started a wee bit too fast. But gosh it's nice to be out & running before dawn again!
PM - massage at lunch. Then gym session + a (scenic) 1.4k swim including 10 x 100m efforts with variable rests. The swim was pretty ugly. I felt like the wheels were turning but I wasn't making any forward progress - in fact, I may have been going backwards. Though I didn't have much to eat in the afternoon which probably didn't help the case.
Wednesday
AM - interval session on Betty (6 x 2min hard/1min spin) before work. Talk about dead legs.
Thursday
AM - headed out for a (scenic) 20mins walk around beautiful Rooty Hill and - wait for it - 10mins run! My longest run in over 4 months now - woohoo! But geez, I'm unfit. I've certainly lost my running fitness - thankfully I know it will come back quickly :-D
I saw the physio at lunch today. He is really pleased with how things are progressing. I've got the ok to increase the distances and big plans to shake up the strengthening work (which I'm really excited about - I'm a weights junkie at heart) so I've joined FF & am meeting with a PT on Monday.
Friday
AM - 40mins tempo ride on Betty.
PM - gym session
Thanks to a few belated donations, I've now raised $1,470 for MS Australia as part of the Gong ride which has more than exceeded my 'lofty' goal. I don't suppose anyone wants to make a further contribution & push it over $1,500?? I'm persistent, I know ;-)
One week tomorrow until Brampton Island - woohoo !
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Lest we forget
Thank you to everyone for your comments! Well I pulled up very well after last Sunday's adventure - no DOMs, no niggles. Happy days :-)
I sat down yesterday & worked on my goals for the next few months. It's a rather eclectic mix of trail runs, triathlons, open water swims, "aquathons", adventure races and MTB races. Variety, as they say, is the spice of life !
This week was a recovery week. I love them - especially when they involve 2 long boozy client lunches (one of which ended at 6.30pm!) and 3 dinners with family & friends. Yikes. Let's just say it's probably safe to assume that I've more than made up for the calories I burned through last Sunday ;-)
Monday
PM - easy (scenic) 20min swim with flippers
Wednesday
AM - up at 4.45am for a 45mins walk(!) to stretch out my legs. I don't think the weather has actually any warmer than it was the last time I was outdoors exercising at 5am - in July!
Friday
AM - up early again for an easy 30mins spin on Betty. Had a physio appointment but had to reschedule due to work
Saturday
AM - sleep-in :-)
PM - gym session followed by a 1.4k swim in a rather refreshing pool thanks to all the rain we've had this week !
Sunday
AM - first up was a sleep-in then a (scenic) 20min walk + 5mins run. Then after breakfast, the time had come to dust off Apollo, get off the bitumen & hit the trails again - woohooooooo ! I spent a very enjoyable 75mins working on my non-existent MTB skills along the Oaks Fire Trail & the Nepean Lookout trail in the Glenbrook National Park. And before anyone asks, no I haven't ridden down - then up - the causeway.
Yet ;-)
I sat down yesterday & worked on my goals for the next few months. It's a rather eclectic mix of trail runs, triathlons, open water swims, "aquathons", adventure races and MTB races. Variety, as they say, is the spice of life !
This week was a recovery week. I love them - especially when they involve 2 long boozy client lunches (one of which ended at 6.30pm!) and 3 dinners with family & friends. Yikes. Let's just say it's probably safe to assume that I've more than made up for the calories I burned through last Sunday ;-)
Monday
PM - easy (scenic) 20min swim with flippers
Wednesday
AM - up at 4.45am for a 45mins walk(!) to stretch out my legs. I don't think the weather has actually any warmer than it was the last time I was outdoors exercising at 5am - in July!
Friday
AM - up early again for an easy 30mins spin on Betty. Had a physio appointment but had to reschedule due to work
Saturday
AM - sleep-in :-)
PM - gym session followed by a 1.4k swim in a rather refreshing pool thanks to all the rain we've had this week !
Sunday
AM - first up was a sleep-in then a (scenic) 20min walk + 5mins run. Then after breakfast, the time had come to dust off Apollo, get off the bitumen & hit the trails again - woohooooooo ! I spent a very enjoyable 75mins working on my non-existent MTB skills along the Oaks Fire Trail & the Nepean Lookout trail in the Glenbrook National Park. And before anyone asks, no I haven't ridden down - then up - the causeway.
Yet ;-)
Monday, November 05, 2007
Sydney to the Gong - 90k ride report
First & foremost, thanks again to everyone who donated money. Ultimately we raised $1,245 for a very worthwhile cause ! Secondly, thanks to everyone for your SMS' and emails over the last few days before the event - it meant alot!
To finish this ride has been a goal of mine for the last couple of months - though it has only been in the last 8 weeks or so that I've been out on the road. Before that, I hadn't been on the bike outdoors since my Six Foot training! Needless to say, I had a bit of work to do... Time is and was always irrelevant. I only wanted to relax, enjoy and finish this event - an event I've wanted to do for a few years - smiling. Which I did :-)
I started to get very nervous about doing this ride when it started raining on Friday. Thanks to Sydney's drought, I had never actually ridden on wet roads, let alone in the rain. But by the time I was in bed and listening to the thunder, lightening and heavy rain on Saturday night not far from the start line, I couldn't help but laugh.
Our team, "2 Mangos & A Brownie" - which actually consisted of Mango, Nando, Brother Mango, his mate & myself - set out just after 7am in light rain.
Brother Mango & his mate quickly took off as they needed to be back in Sydney early but the rest of the team - R, Nando & myself - rode the whole way together. Thanks for the great company boys & for keeping an eye out for me the whole way.
I took it very, very carefully on the wet, crowded roads to start with. Despite the very crowded conditions over the first 10k, almost everyone was very considerate & mindful of those around them & stuck to the rules which allowed me to settle in & get used to handling Betty in the conditions very quickly. The rain got quite heavy at one stage - which I found hysterical - but by the time we got to Brighton a touch of blue sky could be seen in the sky to the south & the sun had just started to poke out from behind the clouds. By the time we got to our first stop at Loftus (26k), the sun was out, the roads were almost dry & the choc chip muffin hit the spot !
Back on the road and the climb to Waterfall gave me a big confidence boost. I rode this section very comfortably, overtaking lots of people who were clearly (and loudly) struggling with the hill. We had to stop and wait for about 5-10mins at Waterfall station due to the numbers of people converging on the tight & narrow drop down in the Royal National Park. I was really nervous about riding this hill and rode my brakes heavily the whole way. Let's just say that we'll be checking the brake pads before I ride Betty again ;-) I have to say that while I was passed by lots of people who were flying down the hill, 99% of them announced that there were passing which was very reassuring.
The ride through the Royal National Park was gorgeous - perhaps my favourite part of the ride. The rolling hills combined with the sun streaking through the trees overhanging the road made this section an absolute delight. The climb back out of the park wasn't so delightful. I had been warned that this was perhaps one of the toughest sections of the ride - they weren't kidding. I was in my granny gear early & worried that I was going to run out of puff - but I didn't. Just kept grinding away and overtaking lots of people, some of whom were walking their bikes up the hill. However the view from the top of Stanwell Tops more than made up for the tough climb.
We continued onto Bald Hill (56k) where we made our second stop for a banana, some water & to take in the incredible view.
Back on the bike and the last 30k turned out to be the toughest section - lots of short, sharp, steep hills which kept coming most of the way to the Gong. Riding over the Seacliff Bridge was a particular highlight through this section.
Unfortunately the course is short - only 84k - but didn't damper my spirits. My folks had planned to pick us up from the finish, though I certainly wasn't expecting them to be at the finish. But there they were:-)
After lunch in the sun, it was into the car with my folks & and the Brothers Mango for the entertaining drive home (man, it's a long way to Wollongong!). A long shower, yummy dinner & glass of vino to celebrate rounded out a fantastic day!
I've pulled up incredibly well today. While I'm sleepy tired & my legs are a bit fatigued, I have no DOMS. And before anyone answers, no my butt isn't sore either !
Thanks to Coach TA and to my domestiques ;-) for a great day.
So what's next? An easy recovery week & then its time to set a few new and scary goals. How exciting !
Edit: some of my official photos are here !
To finish this ride has been a goal of mine for the last couple of months - though it has only been in the last 8 weeks or so that I've been out on the road. Before that, I hadn't been on the bike outdoors since my Six Foot training! Needless to say, I had a bit of work to do... Time is and was always irrelevant. I only wanted to relax, enjoy and finish this event - an event I've wanted to do for a few years - smiling. Which I did :-)
I started to get very nervous about doing this ride when it started raining on Friday. Thanks to Sydney's drought, I had never actually ridden on wet roads, let alone in the rain. But by the time I was in bed and listening to the thunder, lightening and heavy rain on Saturday night not far from the start line, I couldn't help but laugh.
Our team, "2 Mangos & A Brownie" - which actually consisted of Mango, Nando, Brother Mango, his mate & myself - set out just after 7am in light rain.
Brother Mango & his mate quickly took off as they needed to be back in Sydney early but the rest of the team - R, Nando & myself - rode the whole way together. Thanks for the great company boys & for keeping an eye out for me the whole way.
I took it very, very carefully on the wet, crowded roads to start with. Despite the very crowded conditions over the first 10k, almost everyone was very considerate & mindful of those around them & stuck to the rules which allowed me to settle in & get used to handling Betty in the conditions very quickly. The rain got quite heavy at one stage - which I found hysterical - but by the time we got to Brighton a touch of blue sky could be seen in the sky to the south & the sun had just started to poke out from behind the clouds. By the time we got to our first stop at Loftus (26k), the sun was out, the roads were almost dry & the choc chip muffin hit the spot !
Back on the road and the climb to Waterfall gave me a big confidence boost. I rode this section very comfortably, overtaking lots of people who were clearly (and loudly) struggling with the hill. We had to stop and wait for about 5-10mins at Waterfall station due to the numbers of people converging on the tight & narrow drop down in the Royal National Park. I was really nervous about riding this hill and rode my brakes heavily the whole way. Let's just say that we'll be checking the brake pads before I ride Betty again ;-) I have to say that while I was passed by lots of people who were flying down the hill, 99% of them announced that there were passing which was very reassuring.
The ride through the Royal National Park was gorgeous - perhaps my favourite part of the ride. The rolling hills combined with the sun streaking through the trees overhanging the road made this section an absolute delight. The climb back out of the park wasn't so delightful. I had been warned that this was perhaps one of the toughest sections of the ride - they weren't kidding. I was in my granny gear early & worried that I was going to run out of puff - but I didn't. Just kept grinding away and overtaking lots of people, some of whom were walking their bikes up the hill. However the view from the top of Stanwell Tops more than made up for the tough climb.
We continued onto Bald Hill (56k) where we made our second stop for a banana, some water & to take in the incredible view.
Back on the bike and the last 30k turned out to be the toughest section - lots of short, sharp, steep hills which kept coming most of the way to the Gong. Riding over the Seacliff Bridge was a particular highlight through this section.
Unfortunately the course is short - only 84k - but didn't damper my spirits. My folks had planned to pick us up from the finish, though I certainly wasn't expecting them to be at the finish. But there they were:-)
After lunch in the sun, it was into the car with my folks & and the Brothers Mango for the entertaining drive home (man, it's a long way to Wollongong!). A long shower, yummy dinner & glass of vino to celebrate rounded out a fantastic day!
I've pulled up incredibly well today. While I'm sleepy tired & my legs are a bit fatigued, I have no DOMS. And before anyone answers, no my butt isn't sore either !
Thanks to Coach TA and to my domestiques ;-) for a great day.
So what's next? An easy recovery week & then its time to set a few new and scary goals. How exciting !
Edit: some of my official photos are here !
Friday, November 02, 2007
Rain rain go away....
First up, the month that was October -
S: 10k
C: 213k*
R: um, ask me at the end of November :-)
The bike total only includes my weekend long rides. For some reason my cadence sensor isn't picking up speed so I don't know the distance covered during my mid-week, indoor sessions - the actual total must be over 300k.
Overall, October was a very busy month for me on the work front so I missed alot of sessions :-( Still, it was my second consecutive month of training sans-injury (which I've never done before) so I'm mighty happy right now :-)
An easy 30min spin on Betty in front of the telly this morning to turn the legs over one final time before the big day. I love carb loading :-)
Looking forward to the rain clearing, the roads drying out & giving my domestiques a run for their money on the hills on Sunday ;-P
S: 10k
C: 213k*
R: um, ask me at the end of November :-)
The bike total only includes my weekend long rides. For some reason my cadence sensor isn't picking up speed so I don't know the distance covered during my mid-week, indoor sessions - the actual total must be over 300k.
Overall, October was a very busy month for me on the work front so I missed alot of sessions :-( Still, it was my second consecutive month of training sans-injury (which I've never done before) so I'm mighty happy right now :-)
An easy 30min spin on Betty in front of the telly this morning to turn the legs over one final time before the big day. I love carb loading :-)
Looking forward to the rain clearing, the roads drying out & giving my domestiques a run for their money on the hills on Sunday ;-P
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Thank you
Less than 2 weeks ago I wrote -
"I've set myself the goal of raising $1,000 - a HUGE task given the race is only 2 weeks away but hey, what's life without lofty goals :-) "
Thank you for helping me achieve my 'lofty goal'. Together with donations promised but not yet made, we passed the $1,000 mark today. I have heard from so many people whose family have been affected by MS. I will be thinking of them, and the generosity of all of you who have donated, as I power up the hills on Sunday.
"I've set myself the goal of raising $1,000 - a HUGE task given the race is only 2 weeks away but hey, what's life without lofty goals :-) "
Thank you for helping me achieve my 'lofty goal'. Together with donations promised but not yet made, we passed the $1,000 mark today. I have heard from so many people whose family have been affected by MS. I will be thinking of them, and the generosity of all of you who have donated, as I power up the hills on Sunday.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Countdown...
Only 4 days to go before you'll miss out on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to sponsor me to do the TdG for MS :-) Ok, so it's more likely to be a yearly event rather than a once-in-a-lifetime event but you don't want to miss out do you? :-) Just in case you missed it, donations can be made here!.
Thank you soooooo much to everyone who has donated so far. Together with a few more promised-but-yet-to-be-made donations, I'm up to $865 which is a sensational result - but I think we can do a little better. It is, after all, only $135 short of my goal of $1,000. And it's tax deductible. C'mon on - help me out here. You know you want to :-)
Monday
PM - gym session + 7:30 run + a scenic 1.5k swim followed by the most important element of any session in the pool - practicing my (underwater) handstands & backflips :-)
Tuesday
Rest. I've had a mini-niggle in my left quad (ITB related I think) since Monday morning. Unfortunately I had to cancel my massage due to work (again) so I'll have to sort it out with a rolling pin & butt plug myself (ouch).
Wednesday
AM - 27mins session on Betty in front of the telly at 4.45am today with lots of short, sharp efforts.
Getting nervous now...
Thank you soooooo much to everyone who has donated so far. Together with a few more promised-but-yet-to-be-made donations, I'm up to $865 which is a sensational result - but I think we can do a little better. It is, after all, only $135 short of my goal of $1,000. And it's tax deductible. C'mon on - help me out here. You know you want to :-)
Monday
PM - gym session + 7:30 run + a scenic 1.5k swim followed by the most important element of any session in the pool - practicing my (underwater) handstands & backflips :-)
Tuesday
Rest. I've had a mini-niggle in my left quad (ITB related I think) since Monday morning. Unfortunately I had to cancel my massage due to work (again) so I'll have to sort it out with a rolling pin & butt plug myself (ouch).
Wednesday
AM - 27mins session on Betty in front of the telly at 4.45am today with lots of short, sharp efforts.
Getting nervous now...
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Blunt force trauma
I love Rocky movies. And recovery weeks.
Friday
AM - up at 4.30am (!) for a 45min session on Betty including 2 x 10mins AT. Ouch
Saturday
AM - 20mins walk + 5mins run (road)
PM - a scenic 1k swim
Sunday
AM - long ride.
A recovery week so only 2hrs was on the plan today. Finished with 45.43k in about 2:10. Felt very strong on the hills but feeling v. nervous about next week. Taper time.
Friday
AM - up at 4.30am (!) for a 45min session on Betty including 2 x 10mins AT. Ouch
Saturday
AM - 20mins walk + 5mins run (road)
PM - a scenic 1k swim
Sunday
AM - long ride.
A recovery week so only 2hrs was on the plan today. Finished with 45.43k in about 2:10. Felt very strong on the hills but feeling v. nervous about next week. Taper time.
Friday, October 26, 2007
You've got to be kidding me...
Not happy J(e)n. In fact I'm rather annoyed & pissed off.
Have just discovered my goal race for 2008 (Xterra to be held in Vic) is on the same weekend as R's goal race for 2008 (Port Mac IM).
So Six Foot is out & now Xterra is out. Great.
Have just discovered my goal race for 2008 (Xterra to be held in Vic) is on the same weekend as R's goal race for 2008 (Port Mac IM).
So Six Foot is out & now Xterra is out. Great.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Tour de Canberra
Woohoo!! Thank you so much to everyone who has donated so far money to the Tour de Gong for MS. We are up to $295 so far which is wonderful!!! Keep it coming :-D
Unfortunately, my grrrrrr week at work last week continued so much so that the week was pretty much a write off so far as my training is concerned. Missed 2 x swims, Friday's ride, 1 run, 1 gym session & too many physio-ordered exercises to count. As I said, Grrrrrrr. I am beginning to think that my lifestyle isn't particularly conducive to training in multi-sport events which annoys me immensely. But life is now so I will continue to persevere & take every available opportunity to get some training done.
Friday
PM - gym session + 5:30 run + (supposedly) daily physio ordered exercises
Saturday
AM - daily physio ordered exercises.
Sunday
AM - 3hr 15min long ride - last long ride before recovery & taper weeks
Today's route was courtesy of the Brothers Mango Cycling Tours who took me on a tour of Canberra. Although the distance was down from last week due to hills & (particularly over the last hour) traffic lights, it was the longest amount of time I have ever spent on a bike. We basically did a big loop around Canberra - from north of town along the Federal Highway, past the War Memorial, Mt Ainslie, ADFA, the National Art Gallery, Old Parliament House, (new) Parliament House, the Lodge, Government House, Canberra zoo, Black Mountain etc. Thanks for the guided tour boys! I made it (almost) half the way up Mt Ainslie before pulling the pin just before my heart was about to explode. I can't wait to get Apollo & his granny gears down there to see how much further up it I can go....
We also spent some very productive time over the weekend working on an anthem for our team for the Gong ride (2 Mangos A Brownie - our team name had a 'lost in translation' moment). Let's just say it's a work in progress. And no, there was no alcohol involved ;-)
Thinking about my ride I can hear Ellie in my mind doing her Little Britain impersonation ...."I'm a laaaaady". After peeing behind a bush in one of the parks in the centre of Canberra because the toilets were locked (something I would never have contemplated doing prior to my trip to Nepal!), spitting out a mouthful of water because I had swallowed a bug and coming home with a grease covered calf, I'm not sure that either of the Brothers Mango think I am anymore ;-)
Monday
Work-related rest day for the start of a recovery week
Tuesday
PM - massage + 6min run + gym session + scenic 1.2k swim. Nice !
Wednesday
AM - easy 30mins spin on Betty in front of the telly. Thanks to the fact it is a recovery week, I got to sleep in until, wait for it, 5am - woohoo ;-)
Only 10 days until the Gong ride. OMG !
Unfortunately, my grrrrrr week at work last week continued so much so that the week was pretty much a write off so far as my training is concerned. Missed 2 x swims, Friday's ride, 1 run, 1 gym session & too many physio-ordered exercises to count. As I said, Grrrrrrr. I am beginning to think that my lifestyle isn't particularly conducive to training in multi-sport events which annoys me immensely. But life is now so I will continue to persevere & take every available opportunity to get some training done.
Friday
PM - gym session + 5:30 run + (supposedly) daily physio ordered exercises
Saturday
AM - daily physio ordered exercises.
Sunday
AM - 3hr 15min long ride - last long ride before recovery & taper weeks
Today's route was courtesy of the Brothers Mango Cycling Tours who took me on a tour of Canberra. Although the distance was down from last week due to hills & (particularly over the last hour) traffic lights, it was the longest amount of time I have ever spent on a bike. We basically did a big loop around Canberra - from north of town along the Federal Highway, past the War Memorial, Mt Ainslie, ADFA, the National Art Gallery, Old Parliament House, (new) Parliament House, the Lodge, Government House, Canberra zoo, Black Mountain etc. Thanks for the guided tour boys! I made it (almost) half the way up Mt Ainslie before pulling the pin just before my heart was about to explode. I can't wait to get Apollo & his granny gears down there to see how much further up it I can go....
We also spent some very productive time over the weekend working on an anthem for our team for the Gong ride (2 Mangos A Brownie - our team name had a 'lost in translation' moment). Let's just say it's a work in progress. And no, there was no alcohol involved ;-)
Thinking about my ride I can hear Ellie in my mind doing her Little Britain impersonation ...."I'm a laaaaady". After peeing behind a bush in one of the parks in the centre of Canberra because the toilets were locked (something I would never have contemplated doing prior to my trip to Nepal!), spitting out a mouthful of water because I had swallowed a bug and coming home with a grease covered calf, I'm not sure that either of the Brothers Mango think I am anymore ;-)
Monday
Work-related rest day for the start of a recovery week
Tuesday
PM - massage + 6min run + gym session + scenic 1.2k swim. Nice !
Wednesday
AM - easy 30mins spin on Betty in front of the telly. Thanks to the fact it is a recovery week, I got to sleep in until, wait for it, 5am - woohoo ;-)
Only 10 days until the Gong ride. OMG !
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Le Tour de Gong
I (finally) entered the Gong ride this morning and later sent this email out to some of my friends & family -
Hello all :-)
As some of you know, I have decided to do the Sydney to Gong ride in 2 weeks time. For those of you who don't know, it's 90kms. Yes, that's right. 90kms. On a bike. OMG !
Anyhoo, this is a fundraising event for MS Australia so I encourage everyone to sponsor me :-) I had absolute no idea that the average age of diagnosis of MS is 30 (!) and 5 people are diagnosed every day. Besides, knowing that there is money on the line might be the only thing that stops me from climbing off the bike & curling up in a foetal position and sucking my thumb by the side of the road somewhere between here & the Gong ;-)
I've set myself the goal of raising $1,000 - a HUGE task given the race is only 2 weeks away but hey, what's life without lofty goals.
J x
Donations can be made HERE!
Hello all :-)
As some of you know, I have decided to do the Sydney to Gong ride in 2 weeks time. For those of you who don't know, it's 90kms. Yes, that's right. 90kms. On a bike. OMG !
Anyhoo, this is a fundraising event for MS Australia so I encourage everyone to sponsor me :-) I had absolute no idea that the average age of diagnosis of MS is 30 (!) and 5 people are diagnosed every day. Besides, knowing that there is money on the line might be the only thing that stops me from climbing off the bike & curling up in a foetal position and sucking my thumb by the side of the road somewhere between here & the Gong ;-)
I've set myself the goal of raising $1,000 - a HUGE task given the race is only 2 weeks away but hey, what's life without lofty goals.
J x
Donations can be made HERE!
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Ugly
Another one of those weeks so far I'm afraid. Grrrr
Monday
Rest day. Up to Brisvegas & back for work. 17 hours working & travelling does not a very restful rest day make. Eventually got home at 10.15pm. Nice.
Tuesday
Gave myself a sleep-in this morning until, wait for it, 6.45am. How sad. Unfortunately I didn't get home from work until after 9.15pm so another rest day thanks to work. Grrrrr.
Wednesday
AM - finally some movement. 40mins session on Betty at c100-110 at 4.45am. Given my pedalling style is more Ulrich than Armstrong, it was tough.
PM - home from work at 8.30pm so Monday's swim/gym session is officially a write off. Grrrrrrrr.
Not happy Jan.
Monday
Rest day. Up to Brisvegas & back for work. 17 hours working & travelling does not a very restful rest day make. Eventually got home at 10.15pm. Nice.
Tuesday
Gave myself a sleep-in this morning until, wait for it, 6.45am. How sad. Unfortunately I didn't get home from work until after 9.15pm so another rest day thanks to work. Grrrrr.
Wednesday
AM - finally some movement. 40mins session on Betty at c100-110 at 4.45am. Given my pedalling style is more Ulrich than Armstrong, it was tough.
PM - home from work at 8.30pm so Monday's swim/gym session is officially a write off. Grrrrrrrr.
Not happy Jan.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Found - 1 pair of VMOs !
For the first time in my life, I have discovered my VMOs!! Woohoo. I don't think you can quite understand how exciting this is unless you are a woman who has (had) a bad Q angle & who was struggled with hip & ITB problems for years. I know Lulu will understand :-)
Saturday
AM - long ride - 61.76k in 2:41 (aver 23.0k/h)
I have been feeling a bit nervous about the Gong ride at the moment. Today's ride was a huge - and much needed - confidence boost for me :-)
It was very cool out on the M7 bike path this morning in the shade. Thankfully I was able to borrow R's arm warmers so I didn't freeze to death. The first 20-30mins were pretty rough as my quads reminded me of the torture I inflicted on them on Thursday. But slowly & surely we picked up the pace. It's amazing the difference that the last 2-3 weeks of consistent training has produced - I felt really strong & fit today climbing the nasty hills out near Elizabeth Drive. The first time I rode up them on Betty (3 weeks ago now) I almost got off & walked! Happy days! I am however investigating putting a granny gear on Betty before the Gong ride - her lowest rear gear is a 23 - but I'm a bit undecided as to whether I'll need it...we'll see
Sunday
AM - after a sleep-in and following the big race at Kona - Macca & Crowie you bloody legends!! - I headed off to the pool. I have arranged a couple of private swimming lessons to work on my stoke. Given that it's been about 25 years since I last had formal instructions, I thought it was unlikely that my stroke was as effective & efficient as it could be ;-) The session was great & much to my surprise, she said my stroke was pretty good & gave me a few small things to work on.
Afterwards, I moved into the big pool for my 1.9k session keeping my new tricks in mind. I felt much better in the water than I did on Wednesday. From the pool it was into the gym for my 5min run on the tready followed by the usual gym session. Legs are feeling pretty stuffed now!
Off to Brisbane for work tomorrow & possibly Tuesday and then we are in Canberra next weekend for family stuff so my sessions over the coming week will have to be shuffled around. Again.
Saturday
AM - long ride - 61.76k in 2:41 (aver 23.0k/h)
I have been feeling a bit nervous about the Gong ride at the moment. Today's ride was a huge - and much needed - confidence boost for me :-)
It was very cool out on the M7 bike path this morning in the shade. Thankfully I was able to borrow R's arm warmers so I didn't freeze to death. The first 20-30mins were pretty rough as my quads reminded me of the torture I inflicted on them on Thursday. But slowly & surely we picked up the pace. It's amazing the difference that the last 2-3 weeks of consistent training has produced - I felt really strong & fit today climbing the nasty hills out near Elizabeth Drive. The first time I rode up them on Betty (3 weeks ago now) I almost got off & walked! Happy days! I am however investigating putting a granny gear on Betty before the Gong ride - her lowest rear gear is a 23 - but I'm a bit undecided as to whether I'll need it...we'll see
Sunday
AM - after a sleep-in and following the big race at Kona - Macca & Crowie you bloody legends!! - I headed off to the pool. I have arranged a couple of private swimming lessons to work on my stoke. Given that it's been about 25 years since I last had formal instructions, I thought it was unlikely that my stroke was as effective & efficient as it could be ;-) The session was great & much to my surprise, she said my stroke was pretty good & gave me a few small things to work on.
Afterwards, I moved into the big pool for my 1.9k session keeping my new tricks in mind. I felt much better in the water than I did on Wednesday. From the pool it was into the gym for my 5min run on the tready followed by the usual gym session. Legs are feeling pretty stuffed now!
Off to Brisbane for work tomorrow & possibly Tuesday and then we are in Canberra next weekend for family stuff so my sessions over the coming week will have to be shuffled around. Again.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Permission to launch !
Friday
PM - 15min walk + 5min run + daily physio-ordered exercises
I saw the physio at lunch today. He's really happy with my progress & has given me to the ok to slowly crank up the running as of next week! Woohoo. So far as the daily exercises & gym sessions are concerned, he doesn't want to change it too much now due to the Gong ride only being 3 weeks away. But once that's over, the strength work will also have a serious overhaul & increase. Woohoo !
But don't worry, "crank" of course is a relative term. I'm under instructions to make a slow transition to running on the road again after running on the tready for a while & to make very conservative increases - around 10% each week - which means next week I get to run for a whole 1min 30sec longer, LOL ;-) Still, it's better than nothing- happy days!
PM - 15min walk + 5min run + daily physio-ordered exercises
I saw the physio at lunch today. He's really happy with my progress & has given me to the ok to slowly crank up the running as of next week! Woohoo. So far as the daily exercises & gym sessions are concerned, he doesn't want to change it too much now due to the Gong ride only being 3 weeks away. But once that's over, the strength work will also have a serious overhaul & increase. Woohoo !
But don't worry, "crank" of course is a relative term. I'm under instructions to make a slow transition to running on the road again after running on the tready for a while & to make very conservative increases - around 10% each week - which means next week I get to run for a whole 1min 30sec longer, LOL ;-) Still, it's better than nothing- happy days!
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Life is now
Right. In an effort to prevent my posts being longer & more boring than Ulysses, I'm going to try & post more regularly. Well, that's the plan anyway!
Work has been messing with my training plans - again. If anything this week has been a reminder to make the most of my training opportunities when they arise because work can become fn feral very quickly. But hey, that's life I suppose. Besides it's hard to be grumpy when you've just booked an escape to Brampton Island for a couple of days next month :-)
Monday
PM - gym session
Got stuck in the office so ran out of time to do both my gym session & swim so the gym session won. Then home to do the rest of my daily physio-ordered stuff
Tuesday
AM - up at 4.45am for a 40mins interval session on Betty.
On the menu today was lots of short & hard efforts. Ouchy. Turned out to be a feral day at work - unfortunately I had to cancel my (much-needed) massage & didn't get home from work until after 9.30 so catching up on Monday's (missed) swim was out of the question.
Wednesday
PM - gym session + 5mins run on the treadmill + 1k swim + daily physio-ordered stuff.
The swim was cr*p. It was supposed to be 1.4k including 2 x 500m efforts but I had absolutely nothing in the tank. It was a struggle even to do the 1k.
Thursday
AM - up at 4.30 to do 60mins on Betty in front of the telly off the seat with increased resistance to simulate hill climbing during the ad breaks.
Ouchy. Very ouchy so far as my quads were concerned. And let's just say tv viewing at 4.45am in the morning does not make for the most interesting hour. It was quite amusing actually. Thanks to the US morning shows today I learnt what handyman things around the house you should & shouldn't do yourself, how to disguise good healthy stuff in meals for your kids and how to potty train your children from 3mths old so they are "diaper-free". LOL Yep, all very helpful stuff ;-) Next time I'll be looking for a movie that we've taped with adds still in it...
Feeling very tired & fatigued now. Other than a physio appointment (which will include my 5mins run) tomorrow (Friday), nothing now until my long ride on Saturday. Good - I need some sleep.
Work has been messing with my training plans - again. If anything this week has been a reminder to make the most of my training opportunities when they arise because work can become fn feral very quickly. But hey, that's life I suppose. Besides it's hard to be grumpy when you've just booked an escape to Brampton Island for a couple of days next month :-)
Monday
PM - gym session
Got stuck in the office so ran out of time to do both my gym session & swim so the gym session won. Then home to do the rest of my daily physio-ordered stuff
Tuesday
AM - up at 4.45am for a 40mins interval session on Betty.
On the menu today was lots of short & hard efforts. Ouchy. Turned out to be a feral day at work - unfortunately I had to cancel my (much-needed) massage & didn't get home from work until after 9.30 so catching up on Monday's (missed) swim was out of the question.
Wednesday
PM - gym session + 5mins run on the treadmill + 1k swim + daily physio-ordered stuff.
The swim was cr*p. It was supposed to be 1.4k including 2 x 500m efforts but I had absolutely nothing in the tank. It was a struggle even to do the 1k.
Thursday
AM - up at 4.30 to do 60mins on Betty in front of the telly off the seat with increased resistance to simulate hill climbing during the ad breaks.
Ouchy. Very ouchy so far as my quads were concerned. And let's just say tv viewing at 4.45am in the morning does not make for the most interesting hour. It was quite amusing actually. Thanks to the US morning shows today I learnt what handyman things around the house you should & shouldn't do yourself, how to disguise good healthy stuff in meals for your kids and how to potty train your children from 3mths old so they are "diaper-free". LOL Yep, all very helpful stuff ;-) Next time I'll be looking for a movie that we've taped with adds still in it...
Feeling very tired & fatigued now. Other than a physio appointment (which will include my 5mins run) tomorrow (Friday), nothing now until my long ride on Saturday. Good - I need some sleep.
Monday, October 08, 2007
She's back.....
I've decided October is the month that I pull my finger out & get back to running :-) No (more) excuses or laziness!
Wednesday
AM - up early (again) for an cadence-based interval session on Betty while watching part of Dirty Dancing - another of my favourite movies :-) Let's just say the session proved to be tougher than it appeared on paper!
PM - headed to the pool after work to do the 1.6k swim that I was supposed to do on Monday but was too lazy - um, I mean tired - to get out of bed to do. Despite the outdoor pool being much more 'refreshing' than the beautiful warm pool at Southport, I really enjoyed this swim. It was one of those times when it all comes together - my stroke stayed long even during the efforts and body roll was good (something I struggle with abit given that I was taught - many many moons ago - not to roll). Oh and it was scenic ;-) Happy days !
Thursday
PM - gym session (including 5mins run, woohoo!) then home to do my daily physio-ordered stuff & a baked dinner courtesy of mum :-)
Friday
AM - another interval session - 52mins in total - on Betty on the trainer. 8 x 3mins efforts hard with 1min spin recovery were on the menu today. Yikes. After last night's gym session my legs were just about ready to drop off by the end of the session.
Saturday
AM - long ride - 51.24k in 2:28 (aver 20.6km/hr)
I've never ridden on consecutive days but this week's events (principally Tuesday morning's flight & Sunday's plans) left me with little choice. So I made sure that I was properly recovered after Friday's session.
Though today was not my longest ride (either in time or distance), thanks to the conditions it was by far my toughest. We left Rooty Hill to head to the M7 bike path at about 10.45am. For a change of scenery, we headed north & turned around on the T1 bike path not far after the end of the M7 bike path. It was hot & still - ick! Not long after the turnaround the westerly arrived (too late for us to get the benefit of the tailwind). Nice - a strong head wind. And then it become a crosswind when we followed the bike path as it headed south. By the time we made the final turn for home somewhere beyond the chicken farm, there were really strong (cross) wind gusts which pushed the bike sideways toward the guard rail - ick. I've never ridden in conditions like that. It was a bit scary at times. I didn't care about the time or speed anymore, I just wanted to get back to the car in one piece.
Of course the weather gods hadn't finished with us yet & so decided to add a duststorm to the equation. About which time I'd had enough & yelled out (much to the amusement of R) "bring it on weather gods!". After getting home, I discovered that the bike legs in some of the races at the Club Teams Champs at the Regatta Centre in Penrith had been cancelled due to the wind. Wimps ;-)
Needless to say the fact that our average speed was down wasn't surprising. I had planned to head to the pool to do my long swim in the afternoon but was too stuffed after the ride so I will have to miss that session for the week.
PM: daily physio-ordered stuff
Sunday
4 weeks to the Gong ride. OMG. I'm really nervous about this. Not so much the distance but the hills.....man, I really hope I don't have to get off & push. How embarrassing that would be....
AM - 20mins walk including 5min run. Legs feelin very fatigued after yesterday's ride.
PM - daily physio-ordered stuff
Wednesday
AM - up early (again) for an cadence-based interval session on Betty while watching part of Dirty Dancing - another of my favourite movies :-) Let's just say the session proved to be tougher than it appeared on paper!
PM - headed to the pool after work to do the 1.6k swim that I was supposed to do on Monday but was too lazy - um, I mean tired - to get out of bed to do. Despite the outdoor pool being much more 'refreshing' than the beautiful warm pool at Southport, I really enjoyed this swim. It was one of those times when it all comes together - my stroke stayed long even during the efforts and body roll was good (something I struggle with abit given that I was taught - many many moons ago - not to roll). Oh and it was scenic ;-) Happy days !
Thursday
PM - gym session (including 5mins run, woohoo!) then home to do my daily physio-ordered stuff & a baked dinner courtesy of mum :-)
Friday
AM - another interval session - 52mins in total - on Betty on the trainer. 8 x 3mins efforts hard with 1min spin recovery were on the menu today. Yikes. After last night's gym session my legs were just about ready to drop off by the end of the session.
Saturday
AM - long ride - 51.24k in 2:28 (aver 20.6km/hr)
I've never ridden on consecutive days but this week's events (principally Tuesday morning's flight & Sunday's plans) left me with little choice. So I made sure that I was properly recovered after Friday's session.
Though today was not my longest ride (either in time or distance), thanks to the conditions it was by far my toughest. We left Rooty Hill to head to the M7 bike path at about 10.45am. For a change of scenery, we headed north & turned around on the T1 bike path not far after the end of the M7 bike path. It was hot & still - ick! Not long after the turnaround the westerly arrived (too late for us to get the benefit of the tailwind). Nice - a strong head wind. And then it become a crosswind when we followed the bike path as it headed south. By the time we made the final turn for home somewhere beyond the chicken farm, there were really strong (cross) wind gusts which pushed the bike sideways toward the guard rail - ick. I've never ridden in conditions like that. It was a bit scary at times. I didn't care about the time or speed anymore, I just wanted to get back to the car in one piece.
Of course the weather gods hadn't finished with us yet & so decided to add a duststorm to the equation. About which time I'd had enough & yelled out (much to the amusement of R) "bring it on weather gods!". After getting home, I discovered that the bike legs in some of the races at the Club Teams Champs at the Regatta Centre in Penrith had been cancelled due to the wind. Wimps ;-)
Needless to say the fact that our average speed was down wasn't surprising. I had planned to head to the pool to do my long swim in the afternoon but was too stuffed after the ride so I will have to miss that session for the week.
PM: daily physio-ordered stuff
Sunday
4 weeks to the Gong ride. OMG. I'm really nervous about this. Not so much the distance but the hills.....man, I really hope I don't have to get off & push. How embarrassing that would be....
AM - 20mins walk including 5min run. Legs feelin very fatigued after yesterday's ride.
PM - daily physio-ordered stuff
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Whose to say where the road will lead us...
Pipe, I guess I can't call myself a real bike rider yet then - because I had my left foot out at the time of the fall. Unfortunately for some reason my balance - and Betty - went right ;-)
Friday
AM - a 50mins hills session on Betty as planned at 4.30am. On the trainer again using a variety of 'grindy' gears for untimed intervals. My knee is a tender & bruised after Wednesday's spill but otherwise ok.
Saturday
No opportunity for a sleep-in I'm afraid. We got up early-ish (well, early for me on a Saturday) and headed for the Southport pool which was less than 10 mins walk from our gorgeous apartment for my long swim. 2k in the beautiful warm Qld sun was a perfect way to start the weekend. The sun was, however, a little too warm. I managed to get a bit burnt despite the fact that we were out in the sun for less than an hour & back at our apartment by 10am. Man, I hate fair skin.
After breakfast & a cruisy morning in our apartment, we headed off to race HQ so R could check his bike in. During the (long, hot) walk from the car to race HQ, I managed to stub my toe - badly - and produced even more blood than came out of my knee last week. While there is no (still) photographic evidence, we did manage to capture the mess on video :-) After we had some lunch & R checked his bike in, we met up with Miners at the expo (*waves*) and checked out the goodies in the expo & the bike porn in the compound. Nice. Very nice.
Sunday
Cheersquad duties on a bloody hot day - the temp was somewhere around 35 degrees! It was lovely to see Cirque & Owen (*waves*) who joined in the fun in the cheersquad with the rest of Team Mango. For once I actually tried to pay attention to what the competitors were doing, particularly in transition, rather than just perving - on the bikes of course ;-)
Despite being unable to run for the last 3 weeks due to a calf injury & riding about 25k without fluids after the aid stations ran out of water (wtf !), R had a great race & finished his first HIM in 5.23, 7mins inside his goal of 5.30. It was wonderful to see him out there looking strong & happy out there - even if he was a bit emo at the finish ;-) Congratulations mahal.
After the race it was back to the apartment (not to mention the air-conditioning) for a relaxing afternoon before Team Mango sat down to a wonderful dinner which may just become our traditional post-'goal race' celebratory dinner - pizza, fresh prawns, beer & wine. Oh, and ice cream :-) A great way to end a fantastic day.
Monday
Does spending the day at Dreamworld count as cross training?
I hope so. After being up at 4am on Sunday, I couldn't drag myself out of bed early enough to get my swim in first. Besides I must have been very close to my MHR on the Giant Drop. Oh. My. Gosh
Rest day today (Tuesday). Flew home on the 6am flight from the GC & went straight to work. Man, business class is even better after 4 hours sleep. Looking forward to getting to bed early tonight before getting up early tomorrow morning for a ride.
Friday
AM - a 50mins hills session on Betty as planned at 4.30am. On the trainer again using a variety of 'grindy' gears for untimed intervals. My knee is a tender & bruised after Wednesday's spill but otherwise ok.
Saturday
No opportunity for a sleep-in I'm afraid. We got up early-ish (well, early for me on a Saturday) and headed for the Southport pool which was less than 10 mins walk from our gorgeous apartment for my long swim. 2k in the beautiful warm Qld sun was a perfect way to start the weekend. The sun was, however, a little too warm. I managed to get a bit burnt despite the fact that we were out in the sun for less than an hour & back at our apartment by 10am. Man, I hate fair skin.
After breakfast & a cruisy morning in our apartment, we headed off to race HQ so R could check his bike in. During the (long, hot) walk from the car to race HQ, I managed to stub my toe - badly - and produced even more blood than came out of my knee last week. While there is no (still) photographic evidence, we did manage to capture the mess on video :-) After we had some lunch & R checked his bike in, we met up with Miners at the expo (*waves*) and checked out the goodies in the expo & the bike porn in the compound. Nice. Very nice.
Sunday
Cheersquad duties on a bloody hot day - the temp was somewhere around 35 degrees! It was lovely to see Cirque & Owen (*waves*) who joined in the fun in the cheersquad with the rest of Team Mango. For once I actually tried to pay attention to what the competitors were doing, particularly in transition, rather than just perving - on the bikes of course ;-)
Despite being unable to run for the last 3 weeks due to a calf injury & riding about 25k without fluids after the aid stations ran out of water (wtf !), R had a great race & finished his first HIM in 5.23, 7mins inside his goal of 5.30. It was wonderful to see him out there looking strong & happy out there - even if he was a bit emo at the finish ;-) Congratulations mahal.
After the race it was back to the apartment (not to mention the air-conditioning) for a relaxing afternoon before Team Mango sat down to a wonderful dinner which may just become our traditional post-'goal race' celebratory dinner - pizza, fresh prawns, beer & wine. Oh, and ice cream :-) A great way to end a fantastic day.
Monday
Does spending the day at Dreamworld count as cross training?
I hope so. After being up at 4am on Sunday, I couldn't drag myself out of bed early enough to get my swim in first. Besides I must have been very close to my MHR on the Giant Drop. Oh. My. Gosh
Rest day today (Tuesday). Flew home on the 6am flight from the GC & went straight to work. Man, business class is even better after 4 hours sleep. Looking forward to getting to bed early tonight before getting up early tomorrow morning for a ride.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Bucking Betty
LOL ! Thanks for all your suggestions, much appreciated! A few of them have made the shortlist. For some reason, I'm finding NTR's suggestion of "Cheryl" very amusing (apologies to anyone named, or whose female relative is named, Cheryl). 2P, Artemis was the goddess of the hunt. Rather appropriate for a tri bike. However she did also have a thing for killing off men so I don't know if R will agree with that suggestion ;-) Will keep you posted on a decision which will probably be made after a few glasses of vino on Sunday night.
I've had a much better week work-wise. I've managed to do all my session so far this week (as opposed to only doing 1 from 5 last week). And I've managed to fry my butt by getting back into the physio-ordered stuff. I'm off to Queensland on Friday night for the long weekend - to join Team Mango as R does his first HIM - so I've had to shake up the training a bit this week to fit it all in.
Monday
AM - my maiden (indoor trainer) session on Betty - an AT session with 2 x 10mins AT efforts at 5am.
PM - a (scenic) 1.6k swim.
The fact it was scenic was about the only good thing about it. After 9 days out of the pool (I missed both sessions last week), I felt like I'd lost my 'feel' of the water. I completely forgot what set I was up to. And then I got stuck in a 'medium' lane with a woman practising her kicking sans-flippers. And then I got clipped by a man doing butterfly. I was in a rather ordinary mood by the time I'd finished. But after we got home, we turned on the telly to watch something while eating dinner & discovered a program on "Compass" about the situation of women in Afghanistan 5 years after the end of the Taliban regime. Anyone who thinks the position of women in Afghanistan has changed very much - or is likely to change any time soon - is kidding themselves. Talk about a reality check - a huge reminder of how lucky I am as a woman to be born in the west.
Tuesday
PM - massage + gym session (including 4mins run)
My hip has really improved recently. No niggles during the run & more importantly, none on the walk back to the car which is when it normally really affects me :-)
Wednesday
AM - a day off work (woohoo) and long ride - 49.09k in 2:08 (aver 22.9k/h)
After a sleep-in, I headed out on the M7 bike path with Betty for my long ride. I woke feeling tired & flat and given that it was my first time on a 'road bike', I decided to ignore speed & distance etc & just get used to handling her. So I took it easy, clipping in & out from time to time to wear the new cleats down a little, rode the brakes a bit going down hills (getting used to the difference between brake pads & disc brakes) and took it very carefully when cornering. I just basically had a play. However I wish that Betty had Apollo's lower gears - geez, it was hard work getting up the big hills.
Lance said it's not about the bike. Well, with all due respect Lance my boy, I think the bike makes a wee bit of difference. Today's ride was 2.5k/h faster than my last session on Apollo over largely the same course with, if anything, decreased effort. I wonder what will happen once I stop playing & start riding!
Betty the b*tch however is responsible for my first ever cleat stack - Apollo has never thrown me off before....
It actually look much more impressive than it really is. It's a bit smeared because the only thing I had to clean up the blood was my training program (sorry TA!)
Thursday
PM - 4mins run, LOL.
I went to the gym to do my usual gym session but my butt (Tuesday's gym session) and knee (yesterday) were too sore to do my eccentric exercises so I did my warm up, ran for 4mins on the treadmill & then went home to do my daily dose of physio-ordered stuff. I might even upgrade to 5 mins next week - woohoo - stay tuned ;-)
Tomorrow morning (Friday) I have a 50mins hills session on Betty before work. Then after work it's off to Queensland until Tuesday where the temperature forecast is in the high 20s for the next 4 days. Bring it on :- )
I've had a much better week work-wise. I've managed to do all my session so far this week (as opposed to only doing 1 from 5 last week). And I've managed to fry my butt by getting back into the physio-ordered stuff. I'm off to Queensland on Friday night for the long weekend - to join Team Mango as R does his first HIM - so I've had to shake up the training a bit this week to fit it all in.
Monday
AM - my maiden (indoor trainer) session on Betty - an AT session with 2 x 10mins AT efforts at 5am.
PM - a (scenic) 1.6k swim.
The fact it was scenic was about the only good thing about it. After 9 days out of the pool (I missed both sessions last week), I felt like I'd lost my 'feel' of the water. I completely forgot what set I was up to. And then I got stuck in a 'medium' lane with a woman practising her kicking sans-flippers. And then I got clipped by a man doing butterfly. I was in a rather ordinary mood by the time I'd finished. But after we got home, we turned on the telly to watch something while eating dinner & discovered a program on "Compass" about the situation of women in Afghanistan 5 years after the end of the Taliban regime. Anyone who thinks the position of women in Afghanistan has changed very much - or is likely to change any time soon - is kidding themselves. Talk about a reality check - a huge reminder of how lucky I am as a woman to be born in the west.
Tuesday
PM - massage + gym session (including 4mins run)
My hip has really improved recently. No niggles during the run & more importantly, none on the walk back to the car which is when it normally really affects me :-)
Wednesday
AM - a day off work (woohoo) and long ride - 49.09k in 2:08 (aver 22.9k/h)
After a sleep-in, I headed out on the M7 bike path with Betty for my long ride. I woke feeling tired & flat and given that it was my first time on a 'road bike', I decided to ignore speed & distance etc & just get used to handling her. So I took it easy, clipping in & out from time to time to wear the new cleats down a little, rode the brakes a bit going down hills (getting used to the difference between brake pads & disc brakes) and took it very carefully when cornering. I just basically had a play. However I wish that Betty had Apollo's lower gears - geez, it was hard work getting up the big hills.
Lance said it's not about the bike. Well, with all due respect Lance my boy, I think the bike makes a wee bit of difference. Today's ride was 2.5k/h faster than my last session on Apollo over largely the same course with, if anything, decreased effort. I wonder what will happen once I stop playing & start riding!
Betty the b*tch however is responsible for my first ever cleat stack - Apollo has never thrown me off before....
It actually look much more impressive than it really is. It's a bit smeared because the only thing I had to clean up the blood was my training program (sorry TA!)
Thursday
PM - 4mins run, LOL.
I went to the gym to do my usual gym session but my butt (Tuesday's gym session) and knee (yesterday) were too sore to do my eccentric exercises so I did my warm up, ran for 4mins on the treadmill & then went home to do my daily dose of physio-ordered stuff. I might even upgrade to 5 mins next week - woohoo - stay tuned ;-)
Tomorrow morning (Friday) I have a 50mins hills session on Betty before work. Then after work it's off to Queensland until Tuesday where the temperature forecast is in the high 20s for the next 4 days. Bring it on :- )
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Sexy Betty
I'd like you to meet Betty -
After shortening her stem, increasing the height of the seat (I have a short upper body but long legs), taking the aero bars off (for the time being) & putting a comfy (read: girls) seat on it, she looks like a completely new bike.
Perhaps she needs a new - and sexier - name to go with the new look. Any suggestions ?
After shortening her stem, increasing the height of the seat (I have a short upper body but long legs), taking the aero bars off (for the time being) & putting a comfy (read: girls) seat on it, she looks like a completely new bike.
Perhaps she needs a new - and sexier - name to go with the new look. Any suggestions ?
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Priorities
Bro, unfortunately my early starts are more related to work-related pressures than to any determination on my part !
What's that saying about not being so busy making a living that you forget to make a life? That pretty much sums up my week - although I haven't forgotten to "make a life" (one particular 'excursion' was a wonderful & krazy reminder) the "making a living" part certainly has got in the way. It has been a truly horrid week at work. 3 nights so far this week I haven't been home from work until after 10pm. Needless to say, the training has suffered. Let's see - it's Thursday night & all I've done since my long ride on Sunday is visit the physio on Monday where I ran niggle-free for 4mins - god knows how given that I haven't been doing my exercises recently - and an easy 30mins spin on Apollo on Tuesday morning. Thankfully it is a recovery week - talk about perfect timing! All I need now is a recovery week from work so I can get some training done. A well timed sick day next week should help :-)
I can't say that I'm feeling particularly rested or 'recovered' right now but I'm sure the combined effect of getting off my ever-increasing arse (now that work pressures have eased momentarily) for a swim or ride tomorrow followed by a relaxing weekend down the coast with R will fix that :-)
Good luck to all my friends running - and cheering - on Sunday. My thoughts will be with you.
What's that saying about not being so busy making a living that you forget to make a life? That pretty much sums up my week - although I haven't forgotten to "make a life" (one particular 'excursion' was a wonderful & krazy reminder) the "making a living" part certainly has got in the way. It has been a truly horrid week at work. 3 nights so far this week I haven't been home from work until after 10pm. Needless to say, the training has suffered. Let's see - it's Thursday night & all I've done since my long ride on Sunday is visit the physio on Monday where I ran niggle-free for 4mins - god knows how given that I haven't been doing my exercises recently - and an easy 30mins spin on Apollo on Tuesday morning. Thankfully it is a recovery week - talk about perfect timing! All I need now is a recovery week from work so I can get some training done. A well timed sick day next week should help :-)
I can't say that I'm feeling particularly rested or 'recovered' right now but I'm sure the combined effect of getting off my ever-increasing arse (now that work pressures have eased momentarily) for a swim or ride tomorrow followed by a relaxing weekend down the coast with R will fix that :-)
Good luck to all my friends running - and cheering - on Sunday. My thoughts will be with you.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Great expectations
Well, my goal to post more often seems to have gone out the window as the work has flown in - it has been completely fn feral at work lately. My work is very cyclical in nature and unfortunately right now it is in 'manic' mode with no signs of letting up. But I have tried to get more sleep this week (work permitting) and I've done all of my training sessions - but none of my physio-ordered ones. I guess that means I'm another step closer to getting to the Gong in one piece but a step further away from a return to running. Oh well, you can't win them all I suppose.
Monday night I made it to the gym/pool too late to do both my swim & gym session so the gym session was sacrificed. 1.5k swim, the particular highlight of which was that I didn't drown attempting backstroke - let's just say, I don't remember the last time I tried backstroke. And BTW Hamburglar, my references to swims being scenic is unrelated to the black line, what's on the bottom of the pool or even the men's water polo team training in the adjacent lane on Monday nights ;-)
Wednesday morning saw a 4.45am start for 45mins hills session on Apollo in front of the telly, once again using grindy gears for untimed intervals. Thursday morning saw another 4.45am start but this time so I could go to work :-( Work is seriously interfering with my adventure racing career right now ;-) Yet another 4.45am start on Friday morning, this time for an interval session on Apollo -
10mins w/u
10mins x 30/30s
5mins spin
4 x 3min hard/90sec spin recovery
10mins c/d
Total: 53mins
My soul received plenty of nourishment on Friday night when Owly came to stay (*hugs*). Today brought another early start. While Owly stayed at home, R picked me up & we headed down to the bike shop so his spare road bike - a very sexy black creature with the unflattering name of Betty* - could be fitted for me. Don't tell Apollo but I'm planning to use Betty for my Gong ride and the road triathlons. Unfortunately they didn't have the triathlon shoes I wanted so they are ordering them in and we are heading back down there on Thursday night for the fitting (hopefully I can get out of work in time). From there, it was home to pick Owly up & then a drive to Katoomba to catch up with Blousey & 2P over brunch (*waves*). I've got a gym session & 2k swim on the plan for this afternoon & another long ride on Apollo tomorrow.
Edit: Well I didn't make it to the gym in time for my physio-ordered session but I did complete my scenic 2k swim. A tough session but good - I've been really concentrating on my stroke recently. And while I need to work on my breathing to my left, I'm feeling much stronger & much more able to keep my stroke long during efforts and/or when tired. Happy days. After my swim, it was home for a shower, a snack & then I was taken out for a lovely flash dinner :-)
Today sometime about 3pm R & I eventually made it out for our ride along the M7 bike path. 3 weeks into my new program & the consistency is already paying off. I am feeling much stronger on the hills in particular & my average pace for the various sections of the path is increasing slowly but surely. Last Sunday's outward journey must have been an anomaly as we reached the same point today almost 6mins faster than last week. Today was another negative split - 1min 10sec this time - in total we did 40.02km in 1:56:45 (aver 20.5k/hr). Slow I know.
Don't tell Apollo but I'm looking forward to getting out on Apollo & seeing how much faster I can go :-)
Recovery week ahead - yippee !
* apologies to anyone reading this named Betty :-)
Monday night I made it to the gym/pool too late to do both my swim & gym session so the gym session was sacrificed. 1.5k swim, the particular highlight of which was that I didn't drown attempting backstroke - let's just say, I don't remember the last time I tried backstroke. And BTW Hamburglar, my references to swims being scenic is unrelated to the black line, what's on the bottom of the pool or even the men's water polo team training in the adjacent lane on Monday nights ;-)
Wednesday morning saw a 4.45am start for 45mins hills session on Apollo in front of the telly, once again using grindy gears for untimed intervals. Thursday morning saw another 4.45am start but this time so I could go to work :-( Work is seriously interfering with my adventure racing career right now ;-) Yet another 4.45am start on Friday morning, this time for an interval session on Apollo -
10mins w/u
10mins x 30/30s
5mins spin
4 x 3min hard/90sec spin recovery
10mins c/d
Total: 53mins
My soul received plenty of nourishment on Friday night when Owly came to stay (*hugs*). Today brought another early start. While Owly stayed at home, R picked me up & we headed down to the bike shop so his spare road bike - a very sexy black creature with the unflattering name of Betty* - could be fitted for me. Don't tell Apollo but I'm planning to use Betty for my Gong ride and the road triathlons. Unfortunately they didn't have the triathlon shoes I wanted so they are ordering them in and we are heading back down there on Thursday night for the fitting (hopefully I can get out of work in time). From there, it was home to pick Owly up & then a drive to Katoomba to catch up with Blousey & 2P over brunch (*waves*). I've got a gym session & 2k swim on the plan for this afternoon & another long ride on Apollo tomorrow.
Edit: Well I didn't make it to the gym in time for my physio-ordered session but I did complete my scenic 2k swim. A tough session but good - I've been really concentrating on my stroke recently. And while I need to work on my breathing to my left, I'm feeling much stronger & much more able to keep my stroke long during efforts and/or when tired. Happy days. After my swim, it was home for a shower, a snack & then I was taken out for a lovely flash dinner :-)
Today sometime about 3pm R & I eventually made it out for our ride along the M7 bike path. 3 weeks into my new program & the consistency is already paying off. I am feeling much stronger on the hills in particular & my average pace for the various sections of the path is increasing slowly but surely. Last Sunday's outward journey must have been an anomaly as we reached the same point today almost 6mins faster than last week. Today was another negative split - 1min 10sec this time - in total we did 40.02km in 1:56:45 (aver 20.5k/hr). Slow I know.
Don't tell Apollo but I'm looking forward to getting out on Apollo & seeing how much faster I can go :-)
Recovery week ahead - yippee !
* apologies to anyone reading this named Betty :-)
Sunday, September 09, 2007
Crazy crazy
Well I think I was 90% of the way to my goals for last week - more sleep (most nights) and another blog update. Add in doing all my training sessions this week (including my physio ordered exercises which I have, um, let slide over the last week) & I'll be an even happier girl ;-)
Let's see, on Wednesday a head cold had well & truly set in so I skipped the planned interval session & stayed in bed instead. A good idea as it turns out because I felt pretty shocking on Wednesday & Thursday. After a long sleep-in on Friday morning (thank you APEC), I got on the bike for a 60mins session in front of the tv for an aerobic session with increased resistance to simulate hill climbing during the add breaks which proved to be one tough session. After some lunch & a quick shower, I headed to the gym for my usual physio-ordered session including a 4 min run.
Saturday saw another sleep-in, a lovely lunch & then a visit to the pool for a scenic 2k swim.
As for today, I really did not want to do my long ride. R had agreed to come with me to keep me company. To be honest I didn't want to ride - I woke up feeling completely wasted - utterly exhausted. R was a bit worried that I was coming down with the flu but with Sydney to the Gong looming ominously, I didn't want to miss a long ride because I didn't feel like it. So I agreed to start & that we would turn back if I wasn't up for it. I had 100mins on the plan so we rode along the M7 bike path for 50mins. At the turnaround - somewhere beyond Elizabeth Road, I felt like cr*p - I wanted R to go back & get the car & pick me up. But after a GU and a shot of inspiration, I actually flew home with an 11mins negative split!! The fact that it is largely downhill from there is mere detail ;-) Still by the time I got back to the car I felt fantastic. Man, that GU is good stuff - shame it tastes so horrid. I used to love the Expresso Love flavour - I almost gagged on it today. Ick ! Anyhoo, hours later & I'm feeling great. Apollo however isn't so well - he is off to the shop tomorrow for some much needed TLC. Fingers crossed he is back before Wednesday's interval session.
Let's see, on Wednesday a head cold had well & truly set in so I skipped the planned interval session & stayed in bed instead. A good idea as it turns out because I felt pretty shocking on Wednesday & Thursday. After a long sleep-in on Friday morning (thank you APEC), I got on the bike for a 60mins session in front of the tv for an aerobic session with increased resistance to simulate hill climbing during the add breaks which proved to be one tough session. After some lunch & a quick shower, I headed to the gym for my usual physio-ordered session including a 4 min run.
Saturday saw another sleep-in, a lovely lunch & then a visit to the pool for a scenic 2k swim.
As for today, I really did not want to do my long ride. R had agreed to come with me to keep me company. To be honest I didn't want to ride - I woke up feeling completely wasted - utterly exhausted. R was a bit worried that I was coming down with the flu but with Sydney to the Gong looming ominously, I didn't want to miss a long ride because I didn't feel like it. So I agreed to start & that we would turn back if I wasn't up for it. I had 100mins on the plan so we rode along the M7 bike path for 50mins. At the turnaround - somewhere beyond Elizabeth Road, I felt like cr*p - I wanted R to go back & get the car & pick me up. But after a GU and a shot of inspiration, I actually flew home with an 11mins negative split!! The fact that it is largely downhill from there is mere detail ;-) Still by the time I got back to the car I felt fantastic. Man, that GU is good stuff - shame it tastes so horrid. I used to love the Expresso Love flavour - I almost gagged on it today. Ick ! Anyhoo, hours later & I'm feeling great. Apollo however isn't so well - he is off to the shop tomorrow for some much needed TLC. Fingers crossed he is back before Wednesday's interval session.
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
New horizons
And I'm not just talking about this -
Another busy week & a bit. Thanks for the comments everyone. I know 3 mins isn't much Hamburglar, but after not running for 8 weeks - or is it 9 now?, I forget - I'll take it. It's not quite niggle free yet but getting there :-)
Anyway my new horizon is triathlons - particularly off-road triathlons & multisport 'adventure races' which was the reason I bought Apollo rather than a road bike in the first place. As I can't do Six Foot next year I've been hunting around for a good goal (trail) race without much success. I've always said that I'd do a triathlon eventually. I had managed to resist the temptation and ignore my triathlete uncle who, for many years, has been trying to talk me into doing one. But when my uncle & R met recently, their combined efforts proved far too persuasive ;-) Seriously though my swimming & riding over the last 9 or so weeks certainly wasn't done with a tri in mind - I've only been so focused on it because I couldn't run - but it seems a good idea to use the base that I have built up. I haven't identified my tri debut race just yet - I will leave that decision until I'm running reasonable distances again. But I have a nice shiny new triathlon program which kicked off last week (thanks TA) & was very excited last weekend to discover that Xterra is coming to Australia - finally!
Enough rambling - the week & a bit that was:
Monday 27/8
Back to the gym after work for the usual session (including 3min run) followed by a scenic 1.6k swim including my first attempt at drills. Thankfully I was wearing fins so I didn't take on too much water. It was also my first ever incidence of chaffing. I've never suffered from chaffing when running but unfortunately I discovered a bit too late that one of the straps on my swimmers was twisted on my shoulders. Unfortunately it left a lovely red mark right on the base of my neck at the side. What's worse is that I only realised (after I got to work on Tuesday) that you could see the mark above the neckline on my dress. How embarrassment.
Tuesday 28/8
Up at 4.50am for a session on Apollo on the trainer. It was supposed to be a hills session but I couldn't quite bring myself to go out in the dark (something I will have to get used to, I know) so I did untimed intervals using a combo of different high (grinding) gears & spinning for 40mins including 5mins w/u & c/d
Thursday 30/8
Saw a return to the gym for the usual session (including another 3min run) followed by a scenic 2k swim. Somewhere around the 1.2k mark, I realised that I had eaten very little food during the day due to meetings which made this session a huge struggle. I was absolutely stuffed by the end of it. Still, it got done - unlike my Friday morning interval session. After a late night packing for the weekend & watching the World Champs, I decided to go for the extra hours sleep.
Saturday 1/9
After a mini sleep-in, I went out for a 30mins walk (including 3min run) along the country roads near our hotel in the Hunter Valley on a gorgeous warm morning, befitting the first day of spring! Happy days :-)
Sunday 2/9
All of Sunday was a struggle after 4 hours sleep due to the wedding & then having to be up at 4.30am for the hot air balloon ride (my first!). After getting home & unpacking, around 8pm I decided that there was nothing like the prospect of a 90k ride in a matter of weeks to get me off the couch so I did my scheduled 85min ride in front of the telly while watching the World Champs.
Monday 3/9
Got caught in the office so only had time for my scenic 1.45k swim tonight - no gym session.
This week is another big week of training & other assorted other stuff. Work is really feral at the moment. My goals for the rest of this week are -
(a) get more sleep than I have in recent weeks; and
(b) blog more often than once a week to avoid essays such as this.
I had also set myself the goal of doing every session on the plan but work has already screwed that up - on top of which a sore throat & head cold has descended over the last 48 hours. Hopefully I can recover quickly & be ready for a big weekend of training (thank you APEC).
Total for August - 13.6k swimming, lots of time on Apollo (note to self - get cadence sensor) and - wait for it - 15 minutes running. LOL.
Another busy week & a bit. Thanks for the comments everyone. I know 3 mins isn't much Hamburglar, but after not running for 8 weeks - or is it 9 now?, I forget - I'll take it. It's not quite niggle free yet but getting there :-)
Anyway my new horizon is triathlons - particularly off-road triathlons & multisport 'adventure races' which was the reason I bought Apollo rather than a road bike in the first place. As I can't do Six Foot next year I've been hunting around for a good goal (trail) race without much success. I've always said that I'd do a triathlon eventually. I had managed to resist the temptation and ignore my triathlete uncle who, for many years, has been trying to talk me into doing one. But when my uncle & R met recently, their combined efforts proved far too persuasive ;-) Seriously though my swimming & riding over the last 9 or so weeks certainly wasn't done with a tri in mind - I've only been so focused on it because I couldn't run - but it seems a good idea to use the base that I have built up. I haven't identified my tri debut race just yet - I will leave that decision until I'm running reasonable distances again. But I have a nice shiny new triathlon program which kicked off last week (thanks TA) & was very excited last weekend to discover that Xterra is coming to Australia - finally!
Enough rambling - the week & a bit that was:
Monday 27/8
Back to the gym after work for the usual session (including 3min run) followed by a scenic 1.6k swim including my first attempt at drills. Thankfully I was wearing fins so I didn't take on too much water. It was also my first ever incidence of chaffing. I've never suffered from chaffing when running but unfortunately I discovered a bit too late that one of the straps on my swimmers was twisted on my shoulders. Unfortunately it left a lovely red mark right on the base of my neck at the side. What's worse is that I only realised (after I got to work on Tuesday) that you could see the mark above the neckline on my dress. How embarrassment.
Tuesday 28/8
Up at 4.50am for a session on Apollo on the trainer. It was supposed to be a hills session but I couldn't quite bring myself to go out in the dark (something I will have to get used to, I know) so I did untimed intervals using a combo of different high (grinding) gears & spinning for 40mins including 5mins w/u & c/d
Thursday 30/8
Saw a return to the gym for the usual session (including another 3min run) followed by a scenic 2k swim. Somewhere around the 1.2k mark, I realised that I had eaten very little food during the day due to meetings which made this session a huge struggle. I was absolutely stuffed by the end of it. Still, it got done - unlike my Friday morning interval session. After a late night packing for the weekend & watching the World Champs, I decided to go for the extra hours sleep.
Saturday 1/9
After a mini sleep-in, I went out for a 30mins walk (including 3min run) along the country roads near our hotel in the Hunter Valley on a gorgeous warm morning, befitting the first day of spring! Happy days :-)
Sunday 2/9
All of Sunday was a struggle after 4 hours sleep due to the wedding & then having to be up at 4.30am for the hot air balloon ride (my first!). After getting home & unpacking, around 8pm I decided that there was nothing like the prospect of a 90k ride in a matter of weeks to get me off the couch so I did my scheduled 85min ride in front of the telly while watching the World Champs.
Monday 3/9
Got caught in the office so only had time for my scenic 1.45k swim tonight - no gym session.
This week is another big week of training & other assorted other stuff. Work is really feral at the moment. My goals for the rest of this week are -
(a) get more sleep than I have in recent weeks; and
(b) blog more often than once a week to avoid essays such as this.
I had also set myself the goal of doing every session on the plan but work has already screwed that up - on top of which a sore throat & head cold has descended over the last 48 hours. Hopefully I can recover quickly & be ready for a big weekend of training (thank you APEC).
Total for August - 13.6k swimming, lots of time on Apollo (note to self - get cadence sensor) and - wait for it - 15 minutes running. LOL.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Just for something new - running !
Another week dominated by swimming, riding, resting & eating (!) with a touch of running thrown in!
Monday, it was back to the gym after work for the usual session followed by a scenic 1.5k swim. Tuesday morning I was up at 4.45 for a steady ride on Apollo in front of the telly for 40mins at 75-80% MHR with a 5mins w/u & c/d. Wednesday night it was back to the gym. I had intended to do an upper body weights session but ran out of time due to dinner plans so I only got through my usual (physio-ordered) session.
Thursday I went back to the physio at lunch. Good news is that I'm allowed to run for - wait for it - 3mins on a treadmill 3 times p/week for the next two weeks. There is still a slight niggle in my hip when I run but it seems to be decreasing with each session. The goal now for the next 4 - 6 weeks is to focus purely on my biomechanics & form when I run - keeping my pelvis tucked under & my core switched on. Then - fingers crossed - I'll get the ok to start building the distance again (slowly). I think it's almost 8 weeks since I last went out for a run. I wasn't really missing running until I found myself a new goal race :-)
Saturday, after a sleep-in, some time on the couch reading the papers & lunch with my mum, it was off to the gym for the usual session (including a 3mins run!) followed by a 2k swim.
Today, after a late night watching the Athletics, I headed off with Apollo to the M7 bike path for a 70mins ride which turned out to be particularly scenic ;-) Felt very flat towards the end though I suspect it was due to dehydration.
A big week of training ahead before R & I head up to the Hunter Valley after work on Friday for the weekend for a family wedding. Unless I get my long ride in during the week (or convince myself I'll get it done when I come home on Sunday night) I suspect Apollo will be coming along for the drive.
Monday, it was back to the gym after work for the usual session followed by a scenic 1.5k swim. Tuesday morning I was up at 4.45 for a steady ride on Apollo in front of the telly for 40mins at 75-80% MHR with a 5mins w/u & c/d. Wednesday night it was back to the gym. I had intended to do an upper body weights session but ran out of time due to dinner plans so I only got through my usual (physio-ordered) session.
Thursday I went back to the physio at lunch. Good news is that I'm allowed to run for - wait for it - 3mins on a treadmill 3 times p/week for the next two weeks. There is still a slight niggle in my hip when I run but it seems to be decreasing with each session. The goal now for the next 4 - 6 weeks is to focus purely on my biomechanics & form when I run - keeping my pelvis tucked under & my core switched on. Then - fingers crossed - I'll get the ok to start building the distance again (slowly). I think it's almost 8 weeks since I last went out for a run. I wasn't really missing running until I found myself a new goal race :-)
Saturday, after a sleep-in, some time on the couch reading the papers & lunch with my mum, it was off to the gym for the usual session (including a 3mins run!) followed by a 2k swim.
Today, after a late night watching the Athletics, I headed off with Apollo to the M7 bike path for a 70mins ride which turned out to be particularly scenic ;-) Felt very flat towards the end though I suspect it was due to dehydration.
A big week of training ahead before R & I head up to the Hunter Valley after work on Friday for the weekend for a family wedding. Unless I get my long ride in during the week (or convince myself I'll get it done when I come home on Sunday night) I suspect Apollo will be coming along for the drive.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Bunnies & angels
Well in the end I decided discretion was better than stoopidity so I didn't ski or snowboard on the weekend - but I did have lots of fun - and food :-)
Friday, August 17, 2007
These days turned out nothing like I had planned...
I had another wonderful weekend last weekend. On Saturday, after asleep-in & lounging on the couch reading the papers, I did 70mins on Apollo as planned before later in the afternoon heading in with R to pick Owly up, and then drop in & chat to Ellie before arriving at Chez Lulu ahead of evening of pizza, wine & catching up with some of my favourite people.
After everyone headed off to the start of C2S on Sunday morning, I walked down to Bondi, bought the papers & sat in one of the cafes on the south side of Bondi overlooking the water & had a lovely & leisurely breakfast. About an hour, breakfast, 2 coffees & 2 newspapers later, I walked down (up?) to the northern end of the beach to meet the rest of the cheersquad. A few memorable moments - though I could really have done without seeing 3 Borat's in, um, full flight though. Ick. After the race it was off to the pub to catch up with everyone & admire and covet a few nice shiny buckles ;-)
A swim (1.25k), laziness, chocolate souffle, tiredness & other 'stuff' (including of course my glute/core stuff) have been the order of this week. I sat down on Wednesday & wrote out a rough outline of a program (it still needs a few details) so I actually have some degree of structure to my training as opposed to my current 'whatever mood takes me' approach - particularly given that it will be some months before I am running long again. The program however somewhat resembles a program that a triathlete might have - well, except for the lack of running ;-)
Leaving work a bit early today (Friday) to head down to the snowy mountains & Canberra for the weekend. I have never been down to the snowy mountains (a disgrace, I know). So there will no training (except for my glute/core exercises) and my first skiing and/or snowboarding experience - though between you & me, I'd prefer to be climbing up the mountains... ;-) My hip has been feeling really good the last week - hopefully it (and all my other bones & ligaments) will still be fine on Monday morning :-)
After everyone headed off to the start of C2S on Sunday morning, I walked down to Bondi, bought the papers & sat in one of the cafes on the south side of Bondi overlooking the water & had a lovely & leisurely breakfast. About an hour, breakfast, 2 coffees & 2 newspapers later, I walked down (up?) to the northern end of the beach to meet the rest of the cheersquad. A few memorable moments - though I could really have done without seeing 3 Borat's in, um, full flight though. Ick. After the race it was off to the pub to catch up with everyone & admire and covet a few nice shiny buckles ;-)
A swim (1.25k), laziness, chocolate souffle, tiredness & other 'stuff' (including of course my glute/core stuff) have been the order of this week. I sat down on Wednesday & wrote out a rough outline of a program (it still needs a few details) so I actually have some degree of structure to my training as opposed to my current 'whatever mood takes me' approach - particularly given that it will be some months before I am running long again. The program however somewhat resembles a program that a triathlete might have - well, except for the lack of running ;-)
Leaving work a bit early today (Friday) to head down to the snowy mountains & Canberra for the weekend. I have never been down to the snowy mountains (a disgrace, I know). So there will no training (except for my glute/core exercises) and my first skiing and/or snowboarding experience - though between you & me, I'd prefer to be climbing up the mountains... ;-) My hip has been feeling really good the last week - hopefully it (and all my other bones & ligaments) will still be fine on Monday morning :-)
Friday, August 10, 2007
Two steps forward....
zero steps back this week - woohoo! I'm quite excited to report that after 5 weeks off running, I am finally making progress. I'm still not running but the pain/niggle/discomfort in my hip has decreased over the last two weeks and hopefully I'll get the ok to start running again in about 2 weeks time. That probably sounds like I've missed running - in all honesty, I haven't. I am not at all frustrated by the fact that I'm not running at the moment. I've been riding or swimming almost every day - besides, it's still bloody cold in Penriff at 5am!
Zoe, the Sydney to the Gong ride is just about the only thing on my radar at the moment :-)
Saturday 4/8
I had a fantastic weekend. Did 50mins LSDR on Apollo on Saturday morning as planned while watching The Last Samurai - IMHO the only decent movie that Tom has made other than Top Gun :-) The rest of the weekend was spent down the South Coast relaxing, eating & drinking :-)
Monday 6/8
Back to the gym for my now-usual exercises followed by a 1k swim.
Tuesday 7/8
40mins on Apollo at 75-80% MHR plus 5mins w/u & c/d at 5am.
Thursday 9/8
Interval session on Apollo at 5am -
5mins w/u
6mins - 30/30s
4 x 5mins efforts/2min recovery
6mins - 30/30s
5mins c/u
Total: 50mins.
Back to Brad the super physio on Thursday lunch where he loudly declared, after watching the video he had taken of me running, "now that is a runner", LOL. The difference is really quite incredible - significantly less curvature in my lower back (I have/had far too much) and less dropping of my right hip when viewed from behind (though it still drops a touch too far). I left with instructions to continue with the current program for the next 2 weeks with the addition of 2 more exercises to do on a daily basis - that gives me I think 7 exercises (2-3 sets each) to do on a daily basis with another 2 exercises (3 sets) to do 3 x per week. Good thing I'm not running - I don't have the time with all this strengthening stuff ;-) I will have buns & abs of steel by the time I'm running again! I've still got some way to go but his comments after seeing the video & the fact that I was able to run for 4mins on the treadmill almost pain free (for the first time in 5 weeks) has left me feeling really positive. My hip was niggling a touch later in the afternoon but a definite improvement after last week.
Today (Friday) 10/8
Back to the gym after work for the usual hammy/quad/butt stuff followed by a very scenic 1.5k swim.
Saturday morning will bring a sleep-in and a 70mins ride on Apollo followed by the usual glute/core stuff. Then later in the afternoon it's off to Chez Lulu. Lulu has kindly offered her compound to Owly, Miners, Go Girl, R & I for a pre-C2S slumber party. Of course I'm the only one not running so everyone else can watch Ellie & I drink on Saturday night - that's only fair I think given that we have to listen to them talk about their runs on Sunday. On Sunday morning while the others head into the city for the start of the C2S, I think I'll walk down to Bondi for a relaxing & peaceful breakfast overlooking the water and then head up to join the cheersquad before all those stinky smelly runners arrive ;-)
MTDS: 5.25k
Zoe, the Sydney to the Gong ride is just about the only thing on my radar at the moment :-)
Saturday 4/8
I had a fantastic weekend. Did 50mins LSDR on Apollo on Saturday morning as planned while watching The Last Samurai - IMHO the only decent movie that Tom has made other than Top Gun :-) The rest of the weekend was spent down the South Coast relaxing, eating & drinking :-)
Monday 6/8
Back to the gym for my now-usual exercises followed by a 1k swim.
Tuesday 7/8
40mins on Apollo at 75-80% MHR plus 5mins w/u & c/d at 5am.
Thursday 9/8
Interval session on Apollo at 5am -
5mins w/u
6mins - 30/30s
4 x 5mins efforts/2min recovery
6mins - 30/30s
5mins c/u
Total: 50mins.
Back to Brad the super physio on Thursday lunch where he loudly declared, after watching the video he had taken of me running, "now that is a runner", LOL. The difference is really quite incredible - significantly less curvature in my lower back (I have/had far too much) and less dropping of my right hip when viewed from behind (though it still drops a touch too far). I left with instructions to continue with the current program for the next 2 weeks with the addition of 2 more exercises to do on a daily basis - that gives me I think 7 exercises (2-3 sets each) to do on a daily basis with another 2 exercises (3 sets) to do 3 x per week. Good thing I'm not running - I don't have the time with all this strengthening stuff ;-) I will have buns & abs of steel by the time I'm running again! I've still got some way to go but his comments after seeing the video & the fact that I was able to run for 4mins on the treadmill almost pain free (for the first time in 5 weeks) has left me feeling really positive. My hip was niggling a touch later in the afternoon but a definite improvement after last week.
Today (Friday) 10/8
Back to the gym after work for the usual hammy/quad/butt stuff followed by a very scenic 1.5k swim.
Saturday morning will bring a sleep-in and a 70mins ride on Apollo followed by the usual glute/core stuff. Then later in the afternoon it's off to Chez Lulu. Lulu has kindly offered her compound to Owly, Miners, Go Girl, R & I for a pre-C2S slumber party. Of course I'm the only one not running so everyone else can watch Ellie & I drink on Saturday night - that's only fair I think given that we have to listen to them talk about their runs on Sunday. On Sunday morning while the others head into the city for the start of the C2S, I think I'll walk down to Bondi for a relaxing & peaceful breakfast overlooking the water and then head up to join the cheersquad before all those stinky smelly runners arrive ;-)
MTDS: 5.25k
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)