Recovery (apparently)...

After Monday's big ride, the rest of this week has been a recovery week (from training). If only I could have a recovery week from work I might actually recover!

Tue: massage + (scheduled) rest day

Wed: worked until midnight so no AM session. Instead I headed to the gym at work at lunch for a short strength session.

Thu: (unscheduled) rest. Worked until 1:30am on Wed night. Blah.

Fri: 1hr pilates with Carly in the AM.

Sat: thanks to 9.5 hrs sleep, I woke feeling human for the first time since Monday. Headed out on my 3 hr ride on my lonesome which started with Chain O Ponds Rd (the local version of Port Mac's Matthew Flinders Drive) and finished with some time on the M4 with plenty of time on dead roads in between. Finished with 72.6k in 3:09 (av. 23k/h). Funny to think that a 70km ride is my long ride on my recovery week.

After some stretching, food, rest & a shower, I headed to the pool to catch up on the mid-week swim I had missed due to work. A relatively easy 1.8km in the pool rounded out the day (and week for that matter).

Tomorrow (Sunday) is a (scheduled) rest day which I'm spending doing my CPR refresher starting at 8.30am before spending the day catching up on some much needed (and neglected) study.

MTD:
Swim - 6.05km
Bike - 375.9km

Alpe d'Hawkesbury

Very true Ewen - but here is something not-so-dull for you; today I did my first 100km ride :-)

R & I headed out today on a long ride on a new route (for me). Leaving home at the very chilly hour at 8am, it took me almost 2 hours of riding before I was able to feel my toes again.

We headed north towards Richmond for about an hour before turning off & heading to Springwood via Yarramundi. This is a tough ride; about 11km in total uphill. The first climb was probably the toughest & then the switchbacks kicked in. About 11kms later we arrived at Springwood & started the long roll downhill, interrupted briefly by a quick stop at the Golden Arches at Blaxland for a pit-stop, water bottle refill and hash brown :-)

Back on the flat & we headed along the M4 to the Northern Rd where R turned left & headed for home while I went south for about 1:30 out & back to make up the extra time. The "outbound" section was probably the toughest section mentally of the whole ride but physically I felt really good throughout it.

I arrived home after 4:33 with 100.5km on the clock :-) Much to my surprise, I felt really good this afternoon; much better than I have felt after recent rides. I tried to drink a lot more than I normally do which certainly seems to have helped. Not to mention the effects on recovery of mum's baked dinner :-)

MTD:
Swim - 4.25k
Bike - 303.3k

9....

What a week. The earliest I've stopped working this week is 9.30pm & two nights I worked until after 11.3pm (and I've worked about 5hrs each day of the (long) weekend so far). Far too much work & food and far too little sleep & training. It's 9 weeks to race day today; I'm determined to nail every session from here on in. We'll see if work lets me do this..

Mon: up at 4.45am for a run, this time around the (cold) streets. 3 x 8mins (for the first time) w/2min walk recovery. I actually felt reasonably comfortable running so long as I was on a dead flat stretch of road. Anything resembling an incline or even false flat sent the HR skyrocketing. 4.3k in 30:23 for my shuffle/walk outing. Missed swim squad because of work.

Tue: rest (scheduled)

Wed: rest (unscheduled).

Thu: short strength session at lunch, more for my mental health than physical one. Trying to suppress panic about being under prepared for the 25% IM.

Fri: headed out at the decadent hour of 6am on the coldest morning of winter so far (the first time for frost/ice on the windscreen) for a run. Another 3 x 8min run w/ 1:30-2min recovery in between. I won't go so far as to say it was 'comfortable' but my first comfortable run this comeback is getting close...

Sat: after 9.5hrs of sleep, I woke actually feeling human for perhaps the first time this week; yippee! We were lucky enough to have company on my 2hr short/long ride today with Gnome & TA heading west for a visit. Out & back along the Northern Road for a relatively easy ride followed (of course) by breakfast. Thanks for making the effort to travel; lovely to catch up with you as always (*waves*). 45.4k. 1:57. 23.2k/h

Sun: the long weekend gave me an opportunity to swap sessions around. So I did my usual run / swim from Monday & will ride long tomorrow. After 10hrs sleep (still catching up), I took the opportunity to drive down to the river to run/walk the 2 bridges loop; Penrith's version of the Bay run but the people are much friendlier ;-P It's a 6.7km loop so I walked for 5mins to warm up then did 3 x 9mins run w/ 90sec walk recovery. HR was a tad higher than normal but this was no doubt due to the different terrain (one side of the river is footpath & the other side dirt tracks with smaller rolling inclines) and a touch of vanity fartlek.

Headed home for some breakfast & a stretch before heading to the pool for a 2km swim which started with 1.2km (23:47) to simulate a race (ie no warm up). This swim left me feeling comfortable that I'm not going to drown during the HIM swim but even more confident that I'll be able to achieve the goal I set for myself for the swim leg at Nepean this year; it's a sekrit.

Afterwards it was home again for a(nother) shower then R & I headed to Max Brenner at Blacktown where i had a chocolate souffle - for my lunch :-D

MTD:
Swim - 4.25k
Bike - 202.8k

1-Mississippi, 2-Mississippi

Clearly I should check the date before I post. I had thought that last Sunday was the last day of May. Opps.

Mon: up at 5am to head to the gym for a run on the treadmill & a bit of pilates. Today's run was 3 x 7mins (for the first time) with a 2min walk recovery. As always a struggle though particularly this time as I was feeling rather fatigued through my glutes / legs after yesterday's long ride.

Then it was off to swim squad. I managed to leave my watch at home and, being somewhat unable to read the clock on the wall, had to resort to the time counting method used by young girls the world over; 1-Mississippi, 2-Mississippi, 3-Mississippi... Probably my hardest, and best, swim session in a while. I seem to have found my mojo at the bottom of the pool. 3km.

So THAT brings May to an end with 15.4k in the pool.

Tues: Pilates, otherwise rest

Wed: up at 5am to get my swim (2.25km) in before work. I felt a bit flat in the water & fatigued in the shoulders. Not a bad swim; 'relatively' easy in that there was very little in the way of hard stuff (thankfully). Pilates in the PM

Thu: up at 5.15am again (ouch!) to get my 46min windtrainer session done before work. A solid session including 2 x 8min at AT (ouchy). Tired now. 17.3k Then at lunch I headed to the gym at work for a short strength/core session for some leg work on the bosu & cable machine.

Fri: 45mins of butt & shoulder blasting pilates with Carly. I was supposed to run but blah.

Sat: after the horrid weather on Friday, I was surprised to wake on Saturday to a clear blue sky. I may have been secretly hoping for more cr*p weather so I could go back to bed. But there was no way I was wasting such a beautiful day so I headed out on my long ride (4hrs), again by myself, about 7.30am.

This time I headed out along the Northern Road then home via the loop along Cobbity Rd. I have only done Cobbity starting from Luddenham (which is about 50mins ride from home), never actually starting at home. Cobbity is the hardest ride I've done locally yet. It's 110mins ride to get there. And then Cobitty itself is about 50mins of truly dead roads & 7 rolling hills which only get longer and harder the further you go. I felt reasonably good on the bike, even on the hilly bits, but was hit by fatigue once I got home. Legs felt very dead in the evening; even the tiramisu I had for dessert on my hot date didn't help! 4:12:44. 92.6k. Av. 22k/h

Sun: crawled into bed about 1am after staying up to watch Sam Stosur play in the final of the French Open. So it was almost (the decadent time of) 8.30am by the time I headed out for a 2 hour "mid-week" long ride. Again the weather forecasters got it wrong so I had the pleasure of another blue sky ride.

For a change of scenery, I headed out along Castlereagh Rd towards Richmond. This is a beautiful, yet challenging, ride with the mountains running parallel to the road. The road itself is basically flat with alternating patches of dead road to make you work hard & then (short) patches of nice road surface as a reward. A head wind on the return trip added to the work load, so much so that I ended up with a 10mins positive split - yikes! 2:10. 47.5k. Av. 21.9k/h. Then gained back every calorie I worked off this weekend at a wonderful lunch with great friends :-D

MTD:
Swim - 2.25k
Bike - 157.4k

4/15

Mon: headed to the gym again at 5.30am for another run on the treadmill; this time 3 x 6mins w/90sec walk recovery in between. Amazing how difficult 7min/k pace can feel...

After work it was off to swim squad for 90mins of torture. Close to 3km I'd say; I have no idea. My head & thoughts were off in the mountains somewhere. Let's call it 2.9km for the sake of it

Tue: rest

Wed: rest. I was supposed to run & swim first thing in the morning. I got up when my alarm went off at 5.15am. Got changed. Boiled the jug, made a coffee and then sat on the couch & worked / studied instead. Blah.

Thu: dragged myself out of bed for 71min bike session on the trainer in the garage (incl 3 x 12min @ 65-75 cadence). 27.7k. Av. 24.3k/h

Fri: 45mins of butt & shoulder torturing pilates with Carly in the morning. And then headed to the gym after work for a run on the tready again, for 3 x 6mins this time only with 60sec recovery. This one felt not too bad much to my surprise; I was feeling really fatigued & flat beforehand.

Sat: went to bed on Friday night psyched to do my 4hr ride on Saturday morning. I normally prefer to do my shorter 'long' ride on Saturday to give myself a chance to catch up on some (much needed) sleep. But with Sunday's weather forecast looking horrid, I didn't have much choice. The forecast for Saturday was 'rain developing' which, I assumed, meant rain developing later in the day. Apparently not. I woke at 6.30am to the sound of rain. Grumble, grumble. I don't mind riding in summer rain, and yes of course, it could rain on race day. But it won't be (almost) winter rain on race day. So I headed to the garage for a 2 hour session on the trainer - my mind couldn't take much more than that - consisting of some standing stuff, fast cadence stuff & hill climbing simulation stuff. 48.2k Av. 24k/h. AvHR134

Sun: And finally the sun came out. Dragged myself out of bed for my long ride, admittedly thinking 'thank god only 12 more weeks of this'. It's not that I'm lacking mojo; I just feel like I'm dragging my feet a bit this week. Anyhoo, I'm glad I did. It turned out to be a tough, but good, ride. I headed out for a 4hr ride by myself (my first ride on my lonesome in a long time). I headed up Lapstone Hill to Blaxland (as tough as it was the first time I did it a couple of months ago), before heading up the M4 to the M7 bike path, then south along the bike path before turning around just after the hills at Elizabeth Drive. Finished up with 90.6kms - my first 90km ride!

I also managed to get a flat tyre only 25mins from home. My first flat in about 12 months & my first when I've been out by myself which (much to my surprise) I managed to change with a minimum of fuss or struggle. Yeah me! Av. 22.3k/h. AvHR 141

That brought May to an end -
Swim - 12.4km
Bike - 503.7km - my biggest month on the bike ever (by far!)

Mountain dreaming...

I have itchy feet. Always happens this time of year; it's climbing season in the northern hemisphere. I received word over the weekend that my guide on my Mera/Island Peak climb in Nepal 2 years ago summitted Everest for the first time last week. And my tent buddy from Aconcagua last year flew out during the week for Alaska to climb Denali (aka Mt McKinley). Bar humbug.

Another huge week & thankfully a recovery week - for the training atleast.

Mon: arrived at the gym just before it opened at 5.30am for a lil run; only 3 x 4mins run w/90s walk recovery this time as my legs were feeling fatigued from yesterday's effort . Finished up with 30mins of pilates.

After work, it was off to swim squad. 2.9km in the pool. I felt pretty good during this session, despite the fact I was backing up from Sunday's (short) open water swim.

Tue: 30min pilates, otherwise rest.

Wed: 45min pilates session with Carly and a much needed massage.

Thu: headed to the gym before work for another run (!) - this time 3 x 5mins w/ 90sec walk recovery. I am looking forward to the day when it all comes today & I have a run that is comfortable. Because at the moment, it is simply hard work. Followed by a short strength / core workout.

Fri: 30mins pilates, otherwise rest.

Sat: dragged myself out of bed early-ish & headed outside for a run; my first run on the road on this comeback. Luckily I know that one day (hopefully in the not too distant future) it will be comfortable running again because at the moment it's hard, uncomfortable & being able to run 10k let alone 21k seems so far away. work. 3 x 5mins w/60sec walk recovery.

Sun: A flying visit to Canberra - down Sat afternoon, back Sunday lunch (sorry to our friends who we weren't able to catch up with) - meant a cold long ride for me this morning. This ride almost didn't happen when R, who put 3 x bikes onto the roof racks, only brought 1 front wheel. Doh. Mini Mango's wheel came to Canberra with us; both R's & my front wheel remained in the garage. Opps. Mini Mango has already decided it was cold too to ride so I commandeered her front wheel for my ride .

I took (largely) the same course I last did about 6 months ago; an hour out & back from Gordon to the Tidbinbilla Tracking Station = hilly. Then 15min on the (flat) bike paths to Tuggeranong to meet R for a coffee before riding home. I was interested to see how my speed and fitness had improved over the same course in the last 6 months. Not much was the answer. HR peaked to about the same HR on the same tough hill it did in December & I only made it about an extra 1km down the road before my hour was up & I had to turn around. This weekend has not been one for boosting my confidence. Thankfully the coffee was good & Ma Mango's cooked breakfast when I got home was tops. 53.9k. 2Hr 30min. Av. 21.1k/h

MTD:
Swim: 9.5k
Bike: 337.2k

2/15

What a week. Work is stepping up another gear. I've worked until after 10pm twice this week - though thankfully it was from the comfort of my jarmies at my desk at home. The project is at a stage where I am able to take advantage of some flexibility by working from home a couple of mornings each week meaning I've still been able to squeeze some training in...

Mon: rest. Missed swim squad due to work :-(

Tue: after working until 10.30pm last night (after starting at 8.30am), I not only struggled to get out of bed but with the motivation to go to the gym. But I made it. Now a bit of a confession; I've been doing some sekrit training I have on occasion alluded to in this blog. Yes, I've been running. Well, if you can call doing 3 x 4mins + 3mins (15min in total) at a pace only a touch faster than snails pace 'running' with 90s walk recovery. Short strength / pilates session afterwards.

Wed: 65mins bike on the windtrainer before work (including 3 x 10min at low cadence to simulate hill climbing). The garage is getting colder every week. 26.4km. Av. 24.4k/h

Thu: 2.6km swim in the coldest water I have ever swum in with or without a wetsuit. The heater in the (indoor) pool at work is busted at the moment. It was so cold I didn't warm up at all, even after an 800m TT. I couldn't feel my fingers for about an hour afterwards. Good practice for a May HIM me thinks ;-)

Fri: 45mins pilates with Carly & a physio visit with Stewart (who the physio I saw before I started pilates with Carly) as my shoulder has been a bit funky lately.

Sat: I was due to do my long ride (3.5 hours) today but was so tired, no exhausted, on Friday nights that I swapped my rides & planned to do my shorter ride on Saturday. A good decision confirmed by the fact that I slept for 10 hours on Friday night. Woke up feeling alive & vibrant for the first time in weeks. I need to look after myself a bit better through this difficult period at work which I think will mean a bit more sleep & riding a bit later in the mornings on the weekend during my shorter ride days.

It was the decadent hour of 9am by the time we headed out for our ride AND it was positively warm; oh happy days :-) My programmed 90mins ("midweek" long) ride turned in 85mins due to a 5mins tail-wind induced, negative split on the return journey home. Nice :-) Then spent the rest of the day at my desk at home working followed by the Golden PIS awards :=D 33.7k. Av. 23.8k/h

Sun: a big, but enjoyable, day. With a 3.5 hour long ride on the program, I headed out on another 'chick's ride with some girls from PIS out & back along the Northern Rd to Harrington Park with a short out & back along Greendale to make up some additional time. An enjoyable day on a beautiful still day. Finished with 86km; my longest ride ever!

After a quick shower & feed, R & I headed to Manly to meet TA & Gnome for an ocean swim. The ocean was incredibly flat & clear; perfect conditions for an enjoyable swim of about 1.5km which was followed up with coffee, food & catch-up. Lovely to see you both. 30mins pilates this evening.

Recovery week ahead - yippee! - if only I could get a recovery week from work!

MTD:
Swim: 6.6km
Bike: 283.3

1/15

Apologies in advance for the depressing post that follows. (With apologies to whatever 1950s chick who sang it), it's my blog & I'll rant if I want to.

A seriously $hit week at work. Stress levels are high, far too high. Work is feral; I feel almost sick to my stomach when I think about how much work I have on my plate at the moment....

Mon: rest. A strange combination of exhausted & energised after FILEX but in desperate need of sleep.

Tue: more rest (+ pilates). Nice way to start my 15 week training prgram leading into Yeppoon!

Wed: 2.5km swim before work. I really struggled to drag myself out of bed this morning & I felt like I was sinking for the first 20mins. But thankfully the energy level improved & I felt pretty good by the end of it. 40min pilates / mobilisers after work

Thu: 59min bike session on the wind trainer (including 3 x 8min at low cadence to simulate hill climbing). Oh so freaking cold in the garage at 5.30am... 23.1k

Fri: 45min pilates with Carly. I was supposed to do a strength session later in the day but she kicked my ar$e...

Sat: oh what a morning. I had a 3 hour long ride on the program which I didn't really feel like doing after a tiring week at work. Dragged my butt out of bed at 6am in order to meet some of the PIS girls for a ride at 7am. In my exhausted daze, I managed to:

(a) start applying deodorant instead of SportShield - though thankfully nowhere 'delicate',

(b) put R's leg warmers on without realising it - but couldn't work out why they were so damn tight ("gawd, surely I haven't put THAT much weight on"...) and

(c) made it 5mins down the ride on the bike before realising that I had forgotten to bring any bidons (drink bottles) with me. Argh...

Made it to the meeting point only 10mins late & then set off - at a cracking pace. The ride was along my usual 'stomping ground' (Northern Rd & Greendale) but physically it felt like pure hard work. Being with stronger cyclists (and being tired after a long week) probably didn't help but it got done. In fact I suspect it is also my second longest ride of all time. .... 78.76km. 3hr 14min Av. 24.2k/h

Sun: my version of a mid-week long ride. An easy 91min ride out & back along Castlereagh Road towards Richmond. Felt pretty flat but just kept the legs rolling over. 35.4k. Av.23.2k/h

Spent much of the weekend working. Is it possible to have Monday-itis on a Sunday?

MTD:
Swim - 2.5km
Bike - 137.2km

Breaking news...

For once, rather than the standard this-is-what-I-did-this-week post, I have news. But first, the boring stuff.

Mon: gotta love public holidays :-) R & I headed out around 7.30am for a long ride which included Chain O Ponds road (our equivalent to Matthew Flinders Drive in Port Mac) & Greendale (my usual training ground). COP really took it out of my legs & it was only until about 1:30 into the ride that I started to feel 'human' again. Thankfully I felt strong by the end of it though I am not-so-secretly hoping that there isn't too much kicking in tonight's swim squad. About 30mins of stretching, pilates & mobilisers afterwards. 2:38. 63.3k. Av. 23.9k/h

2.9km at swim squad in the evening including about 800m kicking on my rather tired legs.

Tue: 30mins pilates & mobilisers, otherwise rest.

Wed: nada. Planned to swim at lunch but spent most of the day in meetings instead :-(

Thu - Sun: I spent 4 days at FILEX - an annual fitness conference - at Darling Harbour. The irony of that was that I did no exercise for the same 4 days. But I did come back energised, excited, bouncing off the ceiling & a tad overwhelmed.

As they say 'when it rains, it pours'. So my news. Firstly, on Saturday morning I led my first outdoor group exercise program. I covered for a local PT who was away this weekend. The session went well - I think!

And in other news, I've entered the Half Ironman - sorry 70.3 - at Port Macquarie in May next year. I should highlight use of the word "I"; no team, no hired (gum) runners. Just me. Guess I'd better get the running thing sorted out soon...

Friday, of course, brought the month to an end: swim - 17.2km/ bike - 320.4km.

Remembering...

No way Ewen - Canberra is a cyclists-heaven compared to riding in Sydney where (assuming you believed - which I don't) you could end up in heaven....

Recovery week - and for once I had done enough work in the last 3 weeks to feel it was justified. If only I could get a recovery week from work...

Mon: 2.8km at swim squad; my longest swim since January. I felt a bit flat in the water early in the session. The green frogs I ate beforehand because I was hungry didn't kick in until later in the session.

Tue: 40min pilates in the morning, otherwise rest.

Wed: easy strength session in the gym before work.

Thu: Happiness is an empty pool for a lunchtime swim :-) 2.1kms

Fri: 1hr pilates with Carly in the morning & then about 40mins walk from Pymont to Central station (thankfully I had my Frees with me & it wasn't in high heels) after work by the least direct route known to (wo)man kind...

Sat: This session was rather removed from anything I've been doing lately - 1hr hill reps walking / running up & down a fire trail - but it came about as part of the mentorship I need to do with a PT as part of my Cert IV course. I have found a local PT who not only does group training but is also an athletics coach as well as a keen trekker; needless to say, very similar interests to mine. So as part of the mentorship, I went to his session & my job was basically to position myself roughly half way up the hill and encourage / support etc the clients during their hill reps. It was the first time I've been on a trail since about May last year; gee I've missed it.. 30min pilates in the evening.

Sun: nada. Not evening any pilates. I thought I would be crippled and/or set back my recovery weeks after yesterday's session. But much to my surprise I was only a tiny bit tight through my hip flexors; all this pilates must be working :-) I was due to ride today but the rain in the morning saw me get a much-needed sleep-in. The weather cleared later in the afternoon but I decided to do a slightly longer ride tomorrow instead & get as much study done as possible given that I won't have the opportunity next weekend.

That brings my (official) recovery week to an end. But next week will be light on training as I am spending 4 days at the fitness industry convention which, when combined with the travelling, with make for some very long days.

MTD:
Swim -14.3km
Bike - 257.1km

Stepping up...

Another crazy working week but thankfully after working 10 days straight, I have been able to escape from doing any work this weekend which is great - more time to study ;-)

Mon: Pilates in the AM & then 2.6km at swim squad after work; my longest swim in several months now & I certainly felt it as the session went on (*she says yawning*).

Tue: 30mins pilates, otherwise rest.

Wed: more pilates, more rest.

Thu: 2.4km swim at lunch - a good session despite feeling sluggish & heavy in the water - and then 30mins pilates after work.

Fri: 45mins pilates with Carly before work. And then a short strength session at the gym after work.

Sat: hooley dooley. Today I headed out with R on my long ride to 'attempt' Team PIS sacred ground - Cobbitty Rd. As the complete lap from home is around 100km & I only had 2:30 on the program, I drove to Luddenham where I met R (who had ridden there) & then we set off along the Northern Road. The first time R rode Cobbitty Road he practically crawled in the front door whimpering (don't tell him I said that!) so I was a tad nervous as to whether I was able to do it. Combined with the fact that I woke tired after a busy week & was feeling very flat, I must confess that I wasn't filled with too much much confidence.

Onto Cobbitty and the rolling hills began & after not too long, we started climbing the real hills. After hill #5 (which I only just made it up), we came across road works & signs indicating a gravel road ahead. At this point we stopped to decide what to do; whether to push ahead & try the gravel road or turn around. To be honest, there was no way I could have turned around & ridden back over the 5 hills we had just come over - knowing that there were only 2 major ones ahead of us - so we decided to go on over the gravel road, which incidentally also happened to be hill #6. It wasn't quite Paris - Roubaix conditions...



but it wasn't too far off....



It was a hard ride; the surface itself is dead. No hot mix a la West Head to be seen anywhere. Team PIS rides Cobbitty, Greendale Road (my usual training ground) & then Lapstone Hill up to Blaxland during their Saturday morning rides; no wonder they are so strong on the bike. 56.9km. 21.9k/h. 2:36. AvHR 143.

Needless to say, my Easter eggs vanished rapidly later in the afternoon....

Sun: not surprisingly, my legs felt a bit fatigued this morning so I set out to do my 'mid-week long ride' out & back along the Northern Road. A beautiful, calm morning, perfect for a relatively easy ride. Must admit that my legs reminded me of yesterday's ride anytime I went up a hill, incline or even false flat... 1:21. 32.4k. Av.24k/h. AvHR141

Another busy week at work ahead of the 'long weekend'. Fingers crossed I don't have to work too much during it...

MTD:
Swim - 9.4k
Bike - 257.1k

Ah, that feels better...

Although this week has seen a return of the low grade work-related anxiety at all hours of the day and night, I am actually feeling better this week (not only physically but mentally) after getting in some consistent training this week (not to mention cutting back the amount of cr*p food being consumed).

Mon: I had a 75mins mid-week long ride scheduled for later in the week. But knowing how cr*p this week in particular was going to be at work, I decided to take advantage of the public holiday & do it today instead which meant 3 rides in 4 days over Easter - nice! R & I left home about 7.15am & rode to the Regatta Centre to watch the joint club sprint race (Panthers, Hills, LAPD, Hawkesbury). Lovely as always to catch up with Gnome (*waves*) while watching TA race. Afterwards, R & I got back on the bikes & did an out & back along Castlereagh Rd towards Richmond. I haven't ridden that way before. But it's perfect for some efforts/intervals & for working on cadence. Finished with 1:23. 34.5k. 24.9k/h av. AvHR 148. Tired now.

This ride actually made 118km on the bike in the last 4 days; about 75% of March's total. The 10% rule is overrated if you ask me.

Tue: 2.3km swim at lunch; one of my longest swims in a while. Wee bit tired by the end though...

Wed: 30mins pilates

Thu: what was supposed to be a 2.1km swim at lunch was probably a tad longer due to my goldfish-like memory when it comes to counting laps.

Fri: 1hr pilates w/ Carly

Sat: headed out on my own today for what was supposed to be a 2:15 long ride. I was feeling tired after a long week at work so took it relatively easy, first heading out along the Northern Road to Luddenham before turning off & winding my way along the back (dead) roads until I got to Mamre Road at St Marys. This is a good ride for me in terms of working on speed; it's relatively flat with dead-road sections. I was averaging 24+k/h while keeping my HR at about 70% until I got to the M4 :-(

The traffic was banked up. Some of the drivers had (stoopidly) tried to drive up the inside / breakdown lane to get past the traffic, leaving no room to ride past. So I had to unclip one foot & push myself for about 200m down the road between the traffic. It was passing one of these cars that I heard the reason for the traffic; a group of cyclists had been hit by a truck (after getting home I learnt that it had been a fatality). I have heard of fatalities before of course but given that I was out on the road at the same time, and riding very close to the accident scene, this has really rattled me. It is a harsh reminder of the risks we take every time we head out the door in the morning to do something we love. Fortunately the road was blocked off & I didn't have to ride past of the site of the accident. But still it left me very shaken so I headed straight home for a cuddle :-) 2:01. 46.4k. 23.1k/h av. AvHR 141

Sun: "rest" day but no rest from triathlon. We were up at 5am to drive into the city to watch the ITU World Cup races. Spent the day sitting on the Opera House steps with some Panthers / PIS members enjoying the racing. Would love to stay up tonight to watch Paris - Roubaix cycle classic but alas I need to be up at 5am (again)..

MTD:
Swim - 4.4k
Bike - 165.1km

Expect the unexpected..

...should be the motto of triathlons. Last Sunday certainly lived up to that. R had a fantastic swim - taking 10mins off his swim split from his debut race 2 years ago - but unfortunately crashed on the first lap of the bike. We were in town waiting outside a cafe for him to come past at the end of his first lap, when another member of PIS member (Penrith Institute of Sport) saw us & called out to us that he had come down. It was about 10mins - the longest of my life - until I received a call from the medic team to let me know that he was ok. About 30min later I was in the medical tent to collect him. He's lost skin, is very bruised, swollen & battered but thankfully nothing is broken. He is also already thinking about next year's race so he's in a good place mentally.

Aside from his crash & concern for him, I had a really enjoyable day. Team PIS (which is an informal training group consisting of members of the Panthers Tri Club), with about 50-60 members competing, dominated the day; with one of our AGers finishing 3rd overall & about 12 others finishing under 10 hours! It was great to be a part of a team with a sense of community & team spirit, something the Panthers Tri Club sadly lacks. So if you see R or myself in some in clothing with PIS written on it, don't be offended ;-)

Anyhoo, back to the training (or resting as the case may be)-

Mon: rest & recovery from IM - ie spent the day chained to my laptop working :-(

Tue: more rest (work, driving home from Port Mac & more work)

Wed: a return to the office & finally some more training! Forced myself out of the office at lunch for a swim. Only 1.5km but no signs of the (slight) niggle I experienced in my right shoulder last week :-) 15mins of pilates PM.

Of course this brought March to an end. Can't say that I was sad to see the back of it. My lowest month of training since I think I was off travelling around the world in late 2008 - early 2009. Hopefully now that I have some idea of what my work pressures are likely to be for the next 8 or so months (ie feral), I can get into something resembling a routine. My ride in Port Mac on Saturday - in which I overcame some mental demons/blocks I had associated with that course & my ability to climb hills on the bike - has also given me a much-needed confidence boost :-)

March:
Swim - 7k
Bike - 157.2k

Thu: a touch of sekrit training and 30mins pilates. Not to mention being excited at the prospect of doing no work over the (long) weekend; my first weekend without doing any work since I don't remember when. Yippee!

Fri: 71mins easy ride with R. His first since his crash last Sunday. Nice easy conversational ride from home out & back along the Northern Road. Great way to start a long weekend - not to mention the coffee & chocolate chip hot cross buns which followed :-D 25.5k 21.8k/h av (lost about 4mins stopped at traffic lights along the way)

Sat: a(nother) sleep-in (loving the long weekend sans-work!) followed by a lazy morning at home before a visit to the gym for a solid strength session. I haven't done a complete, hard session in several weeks now which is something I have really missed. Straight afterwards, I headed for a facial - nice way to spend a Saturday morning!

Sun: another (long) ride :-) Was supposed to be 2hrs but a few impulsive detours (including for a coffee + banana bread stop) saw that blow out to 2:37. Headed out along the Northern Road with a detour via Chain-O-Ponds road - which only re-affirmed why the PIS boys are so strong on the bike :-O. Then an out & back along Northern Rd before taking a 'short cut' to Mulgoa Rd which saw us ride past my pre-school! I don't think I've seen it since I left. And it hasn't changed in the 3x years since then!

This led us onto Mulgoa Rd & an incident which will probably result in another driver hating cyclists. The car behind me slowed, rather than squeeze past me on the narrow road, and got rear-ended by the car behind him! I was as far left as I could go so there was nothing more I could have done without ending up in the ditch on the side of the road. I don't think the impact was too hard - judging by the sound - but still, it was a not a nice sound to hear behind me. Good ride though for some reason my butt was really feeling it today :-O 58.79k. Av. 22.4k/h

MTD:
Bike - 84.2k

T'was the night before Ironman...

and I'm exhausted. Good thing I'm not racing. Still cheering for a grand total of 17 hours needs a fair stock of endurance & energy, something I'm lacking right now. I made it to Port Mac only one day behind schedule thankfully. I've spent most of my time working & studying since I got here but I've managed to get out for a ride, a swim & some time at Cold Rock. Yes, I've got the priorities right ;-)

Mon: my busiest day of the week. Up at 4.30pm to study before work & then I'm not normally home before 10pm due to swim squad. However I left swim squad early due to a slight niggle in my shoulder. Nothing serious; just a few tight muscles I think. I'm not particularly surprised given that I've been spending far too long hunched over a desk in the last few weeks & haven't done a solid strength session in a month or two. 1km

Tue: headed to the gym before work for some sekrit training & a few back exercises to help relieve the pressure at the front of my shoulder. No pilates; home from work too late.

Wed & Thu: surely sitting on my butt either at work or in the car constitutes exercise....

Fri: up early for a visit to the gym for an upper body strength session before driving up to Port Mac where R & Mini Mango had already settled into our apartment (they arrived on Thursday).

Sat: dragged myself out of bed just in time to inhale a slice of toast and ride from Flynns Beach along the IM bike course to the race HQ in time to see MiniMango before the start of the 5km fun run (she & R had left while I was still in bed). After her race, I got back on the bike & rode part of the IM course, back up Pacific Drive, along MFD & out of town. I turned around once the rolling hills of Port Mac flattened out past the golf course & headed for home.

Matthew Flinders Drive has been a real mental struggle/block for me. For those who haven't seen it, it is a very short but sharp 2 'stage' hill. After the first short, steep climb, you turn right into a side street & get a (short) reprieve before turning left for the final (and slightly steeper) kicker up to the top. Before I arrived in Port, I honestly still wasn't sure whether I was going to attempt it. But when I arrived here on Friday afternoon, MiniMango told me that she had ridden it yesterday. She's 14 & rides her bike about once a month. Talk about throwing down the gauntlet! So I decided to take it on, (trying) to stay strong mentally, break it into the 2 stages & trusting that I had ridden uphill for much longer than this little pimple. And I did it! I was a bit ugly but I got there. I would have loved to have seen my HR at the top but unfortunately Garmin Electra wasn't picking it up today. Yah me! 70mins. 25.57km

Much of the day was pretty standard for IM-eve: perving on bikes, catching up with friends, visiting the expo and eating at Cold Rock. At 3pm, MiniMango & I headed to Flynn's Beach for a swim with TA & Gnome, Owly & Miners, which turned into a short swim & lots of splashing about in the waves talking ;-) Throw in a bit of work & a quick visit to the CR dinner & it was a lovely day. At the very least, I'm all carbo-loaded for tomorrow's uber effort ;-)

MTD:
Swim - 5.5km
Bike - 157.2k

Tapering..

Ewen, I'm not particularly nervous about the 90km ride. It's the 1.9km swim beforehand that has me worried.. :-O

Well the scales keep going down despite the (continued) lack of exercise this month. Though unfortunately I suspect it is simply muscle loss as the amount of exercise I am doing - or the lack thereof - and the amount of stress hormones pacing through my body at the moment won't be helping. This week I feel like I've been living in a constant state of low level anxiety in connection with work. Not good.

Mon: 5am - alarm; 5.30am - gym; 9am - Auburn; 10am - Chullora; 12.30pm - CBD; 3pm - Rhodes; 7pm - Penrith; 7.30pm - Emu Plains (swim squad); 11pm - exhausted & in bed. A return to swim squad after several weeks absence. Given the session was largely structured for those tapering for IM, I asked for, and got, lots of drills. A bit of a breakthrough night for me; a couple of fast 100s with surprisingly little effort & a much improved catch. Happy days :-) 2.5k

Tues - Sat: pilates, otherwise rest & far too much work.

Sun: headed out with R for what is becoming our Sunday morning ritual; a long ride with a visit to Coffee Club by the Nepean River for coffee and (today) a chocolate chip muffin before heading home. It almost ended badly when a stick managed to fly up & jam itself between my wheel & front fork (!). I think my heart stopped there for a minute. But thankfully I was able to stop before it did any damage. Otherwise it was a great way to start the day. Not to mention the great view when drafting ;-P R is looking very fit, strong & ready for the IM next weekend. Turned out to be my longest ride in months; much needed given the lack of exercise this week. 2.16. 54.1k. 23.8k av. 149HR av.

The week ahead will be frantic. R & MiniMango are heading to Port Mac on Thursday. However I have to attend a seminar on Thursday so I'll be heading up on Friday at the earliest or even possibly Saturday depending on work :-(( Aside from a teleconference on Monday, hopefully I won't have to work too much or (even worse) come back early. Fingers crossed, remote access, wireless wifi & a mobile phone will suffice. Privatisations wait for no IM...

MTD:
Swim - 4.5k
Bike - 131.7k

Congratulations!

Congratulations!

Your team (Team Mango Jelly) has been accepted to compete in the 10th anniversary Capricorn Half Ironman Triathlon, as part of the Ultimate Aussie Team Challenge.

This race is based within the Rydges Capricorn Resort, Yeppoon, Central QLD on the weekend of 15-16th August 2009.

It's official. No turning back now - yikes!!!

The uninteresting, interesting week..

Geoff, I'll try and have an uninteresting week to make it interesting for you ;-)

Mon: rest (day surgery)

Tue: pilates + rest (stoopid work)

Wed: woke at 3.30am thinking about work & couldn't go back to sleep. So getting up at 4.30am to do a bike session was actually pretty easy for once. 30mins bike on the trainer incl. 3 x 5mins efforts w/ 5min w/u & c/d. Nice to get moving again. 11.6k. 40mins pilates w/ Carly later in the afternoon.

Thu: very short strength session + pilates in the gym at lunch.

Fri / Sat: rest (if a day of spectating at Six Foot can be considered rest)

Sun: went out about 7.30am with R for a ride; our first ride together in months. Headed out to the M4 & then up Lapstone Hill to Blaxland - my first time up the 'hill' & in the process set a new HR max of 191 according to Garmin Electra - before coming back down via Mitchells Pass. It's clear that R is in taper mode; he suggested that we stop for coffee & banana bread at the Coffee Club down by the Nepean River on the way home. I like the way he thinks ;-) I had really enjoyable morning - a shame though that I have had to spend the rest of the day working. 34.1k in 1.41. Av. 20.1k/h

Work is going to be really feral for a few (several) months now that the project I was employed to do has finally been given the green light. Professionally for me, this is huge. But I've worked too hard on my bike & swim fitness & strength over the last 12 months to let it go. Hopefully I'll be able to find some semblance of a routine in order to get some training done...

MTD:
Swim - 2km
Bike - 77.6km

The times they are a'changing...

Yet another interesting week. Come to think of it, they all tend to be 'interesting' for one reason or another! Work has turned feral which will mean some very long hours in the weeks (months) ahead. We also only have 1 car at the moment as mine is in for repairs (with no idea of when I'm getting it back) which has thrown out both of our routines and training plans.

Mon: 30mins pilates, otherwise rest. Missed swim squad as I got caught at work.

Tue: dragged myself out of the office mid-afternoon for a good 2km swim. After so much inactivity over the last week & spending far too long sitting on my ar$e at work in recent days, I really enjoyed it.

Wed: 45min of butt-destroying pilates with Carly. Progress is going really well :-)

Thu: more pilates. Stoopid work.

Fri: escaped from the office at lunch (yippee) for 45min strength session. All is right with the world again. Ahhhhh :-)

Sat: "rest" if you can call getting up at 4.15am to be at Coogee by 6am to volunteer at Wild Women on Top's 50k/100k Coastrek event which started at Palm Beach on Friday morning & ended at Coogee on Saturday afternoon. A great day spent with some fantastic day in a beautiful place. Nice :-)

Sun: 1:20 ride from Wallacia out & back along (undulating & completely and utterly dead) Greendale Road. 31.96km. 22.7k.h

Hopefully a bit more training during the week ahead of a visit to Jenolan Caves - unfortunately by car - next weekend.

MTD:
Swim - 2km
Bike - 31.9km

Off-season is go...

Well although it wasn’t intended at the start of the week, my training for the week certainly looks like an off-season. Several unplanned rest days due to a combination of fatigue earlier in the week, logistical problems due to having one car between us at the moment & work becoming feral meant that the only training I did this week was:

- pilates everyday except Friday;

- a 60min ride out & back along Greendale Road. That road is even more dead than I remember. Perfect training ground :-) 21.8k. Av 23.1k/h.

Yep, that’s it :-)

What a way to end the month. It’s been a rather strange month; my birthday, 2 x mini-recovery / taper weeks due to races (one of which was a weather-related DNS), my best tri race so far and this rather abrupt start to my off-season. As you would expect in these circumstances, Feb's totals were down:
Swim – 16.5k
Bike - 196.2k

March will see a sans-program month; my first such month in about 2 years. My only goal is to maintain my weight. I'm already carrying a touch more weight than I am comfortable with so the goal is not to gain any more with the reduced training load over the next month. For some accountability, it’s at 62.7kg right now :-O I'll be spending the month training as I feel like it rather than as my program dictates :-)

Let there be bling!

What a wonderful weekend for so many reasons - great weather (at least on Saturday!), great racing, great company & bling!

After taking a half day off work on Friday, we arrived at Vincentia just before 5pm to pick up the keys for our gorgeous apartment. Friday night also saw R come into my sprint team as a last minute substitution for his brother due to illness. Saturday morning the alarm went off at 5am & I was up & out of bed straight away. Nothing like adrenaline & nerves to get you moving. We arrived at transitions ridiculously early but after some stuff-ups with registration & marking, not to mention the usual toilet queues, the time passed very quickly. I am always amazed by the nerves I experience before a triathlon. I wasn't nervous before I ran Six Foot but a lil bitty triathlon sends me into spasms. While I try to focus only on the things I can control, I think it is the extent of the uncontrollable variables that make me nervous.

We were racing in the mixed teams category and, unlike every teams event I have done so far, this time the teams had their own separate wave starts - yippee! Thanks in part to the salt water & wetsuit, I had (by my standards) a great swim. It was controlled, relaxed & I quickly got into a good rhythm. I also managed to swim in a relatively straight line which is something I struggle with. Got out of the water, looked at my watch & did a double take when I saw 13.51 - about 3 mins faster than I had anticipated. At this point I learnt my first lesson of the day - don't apply too much bodyglide to the back of your neck because it's very hard to grab hold of the wetsuit to take it off!

After a quick transition I was onto the bike & out of town. I was really pleased with my ride too; I felt strong & managed to 'play tag' with several guys who I would pass going up some of the inclines but then be overtaken by on the flats & downhills. I don't often pass blokes on the bike so that gave me a lift. I discovered too at this point that I had a faint headache; the dead road surface was rattling the brain a bit too much. At the turnaround, I decided to set myself of goal of getting back to T2, and effectively finishing my race, in sub-60min which I did - just! - after just about red-lining it all the way back to town. Got off the bike and ran back to rack my bike where I met R who gave me a kiss and took off on his run. He flew, running a 19.xx, the fastest run split of the mixed teams category.

I must have been in a great mood after the race; I hardly blinked when R managed to drop my bike off the top of the car! After the race we headed back to our apartment & R mentioned that he thought we may have got 3rd place in our category. So we decided to head back into Huski in time for the presentations. Once we got back to Huski, we checked the results to discover that we had finished 4th out of 15 teams – happy days!. No need to attend the presentation ceremony we thought so we decided to skip presentation & get some lunch. Once we had sat down & ordered lunch, we looked at the results again & discovered that an all mens team had been included in our division so in fact we had finished 3rd :-D :-D So we scoffed our (delicious) lunch to get to the presentation ceremony. And lucky for us, they had picked up on the mistake & we were awarded our bling - my first in my adult sporting career! We spent the rest of Saturday morning at the race HQ buying stuff in the expo & watching the rest of the racing.

I'm sure R is sick of me saying this but this is my blog so I'm going to say it again - I'm still stunned by my swim split. Looking at the results, had I done the sprint as an individual that split would have had me 10th out of the water in my AG out of 65 women! I'm still shaking my head at that...

Another 5am start on Sunday morning this time for R's race. It was so much harder to get out of bed without the adrenaline ;-) I had a lovely morning cheering, eating, drinking coffee, finding shade & melting in the sun (& did I mention eating!) with Gnome while we cheered on R, TigerAngel & others who all had great races. It was nice of R & TigerAngel to coordinate their lap timing so well ;-) In all, a really enjoyable weekend; so much so that we are already looking at booking our accommodation for next year.

So that race brought my season to an end. 3 races. 3 very different experiences. Saturday's race was THE perfect way to end the season. It has left my body in one piece (well, no worse than it was when I started the race) and my mind in a very good place. I'm itching to build (lots of) bike strength over the off-season, looking forward to my first race of next season* & to get the body strong enough to run again so I can cross a finish line myself! Woohoo!

MTD:
Swim - 16.5km
Bike - 174.4km

* Yep, it's going to be a big one ;-)

Ready to rock & roll...

Ewen, I have absolutely no doubt that Lucky Legs could whip my ar$e!

T'was 2 nights before my last race of the season & I'm already packed, ready to go to Huski & (to my surprise!) looking forward to the race & the weekend away - not to mention the off-season!

Mon: 30mins pilates before work. Then 3.2k at swim squad. Lots of 50s & 100s tonight. I must say I'm looking forward to the off-season (7 days & counting) as I have noticed a few dodgy things creeping into my stroke due to high volume & low number of drills recently. My right shoulder is also feeling slightly grumpy. I never thought I'd say this but - bring on the drills!

Tue: Pilates, otherwise rest.

Wed: I was due to go to Pilates w/Carly but scored a last minute call-up to Easy Tiger's lair for a massage; my first in about 10 months! Ouchy. Later about 6pm I headed out for a 60min ride along the Northern Road which included 4 x 90s firm efforts which also happened to be into a head wind. 3min negative split on the return journey thanks to the tail wind. Nice :-) Gosh, I lurve riding. 24.7k/h. Av.25k/h. 15min pilates in the front of the telly later in the evening.

Thu: 30mins pilates before work. Then 1.7km swim at lunch with 3 x 300m at race pace (6.05, 5.57, 5.58). All systems are ready for launch :-)

R & I are off to Huski at lunchtime tomorrow. I'm racing the sprint on Saturday morning with Brother Mango doing the run leg. R will be racing the long course event on Sunday morning while I enjoy a (coffee) date. Should be lots of great racing on this weekend to watch - can't wait!

MTD:
Swim - 15.75km
Bike - 154.4km

Blog-versary

Gnome - between you & me, I don't like your chances ;-)

After posting yesterday, I realised that today is - much to my surprise - this blog's 5th birthday. The only time I keep a diary is when I travel. Otherwise even as a kid, I never kept a diary. I vaguely remember deciding to keep a diary as a kid. But I suspect the intention to do so lasted no more than an hour or two.

Soooo much has happened in the last 5 years - new relationships, ending relationships, death, moving house, injuries (!), travelling (lots!), most recently marriage :-D, and always physical activity/training of one sort or another. I find it amusing to think that this blog was set up purely to chronicle my running - haha. Like life, this blog has not turned out the way I planned. It has covered some of the darkest days as well as the brightest and I am very pleased that I have kept it come rain, hail or shine.

The last 5 years have been one heck of a ride. I'm looking forward to finding out what the next 5 will bring... :-D

Happy birthday to me...

Today is my 35th birthday. Far out. I have no idea where the last 20 odd years have gone. I wouldn't quite say that I'm suffering from a mid-life crisis (or perhaps celebration), but it's getting closer!

Mon: 30mins pilates before work. Then 3.25k at swim squad. A very surprising session. I didn't want to go. In fact, deciding between going to our local takeaway shop for a hamburger & chips or going to swim squad was a very tough decision to make. I really didn't want to go. But I did. And it turned out to be one of the best sessions I have ever had in the pool. I felt strong, buoyant in the water and like I was swimming well. Go figure.

Tue: 45min of butt torturing pilates w/ Carly, otherwise rest.

Wed: a day off work for a change but no rest. 3km swim at 6am. My shoulders & mind thank Coach TA for the variety in this session; it had everything from backstroke to IM medley to sculling to kicking (and, of course, lots of freestyle). I've been overdosing on freestyle lately so the variety was a nice change.

Just before 6pm I headed out for a 66min ride, from home down to the Regatta Centre with some 1min efforts along nice, quiet & flat Andrews Road, a loop around the industrial area that is part of the Nepean Tri course, before taking my life in my hands again to ride home - the first time I've ridden around the streets in Penrith. (25.03km).

Thu: strength session in the gym before work. Lots of shoulder & back work in an attempt to balance out all the freestyle I've been doing lately. 30mins pilates in the evening.

Fri: 30mins pilates, otherwise an unplanned rest day. I had planned to do the open water swim at the Regatta Centre again but arrived at the gate at 6am to find that the swim had been cancelled due to another event :-(

Sat: I left home at 5.30am to meet TigerAngel at Bobbin Head for 90mins of hill reps. It was the second time I've ridden Bobbin Head and both times it has rained - thankfully. It is so much easier / nicer riding uphill in the rain rather than in the humidity. It was lovely to catch up during our ride & over breakfast afterwards. Thanks for a lovely morning TA! 28.96k. 1:38. Av. 17.7k/h

Sun: Coach TA gave the ok to skip this session given that it's my birthday. But after the amount of food I've eaten this week, the birthday cake for morning tea...



and ahead of a birthday dinner tonight, I decided that it was probably a good idea to do it anyway. 48min bike session on the trainer (including 4 x 5min). 18.6km (av. 23.1k/h). I have had a lovely day. I'm very spoilt though I need to do lots of cycling over the next few months to make use of my new cycling shoes & 3 (!) jerseys!. Off to dinner shortly :-)

The week ahead is another recovery / taper week ahead of the sprint race (my first - hopefully!) at Huskisson next Saturday as part of Team Jelly Pants (don't ask) where I will be doing the swim & bike again & Brother Mango is running. Looking forward to racing on Saturday & then a coffee date on Sunday on Sunday morning.

MTD:
Swim - 10.85km
Bike - 129.79km

It's raining. It's pouring...

Another week speeds past. More training but unfortunately no racing (did I just say that?). It is also time I focus on what is going into my mouth as I'm not quite comfortable with my weight right now. Last week was a bit of an ice cream anomaly. I haven't been going crazy but my weekly 'junk food' day seems to be stretching into more than one at the moment...

Mon: 30mins pilates before work. Then 3.1km at swim squad. It was a pretty crap session largely thanks to the fact that I left all my gear at home; goggles, cap, ear plugs, paddles, fins etc. Thankfully my kick board was in the car, I 'borrowed' a pull buoy from the centre & R had a spare cap & a set of goggles which either cut off the circulation to my brain & gouged my eyes out or alternatively flooded all night. So I had to improvise during the kicking and paddle sets. Ai ai ai. Still I must say that while I don't love this session, I am enjoying it a bit more now; less talk, more swimming.

Tue: 30min pilates in the AM, otherwise a rest day.

Wed: up early as usual for my swim at the pool at work at 6am. This time it was "only" a 1.5km swim due to a mini-taper for Friday's race. Included 5 x 200m (w/ hard last 50m) off 4:20. The first one was s-l-o-w (4:12) but thankfully I got faster with each one, the last being the fastest (3:57). It took me a while to warm up I think - which is hardly a surprise given that the pool is bl**dy cold.

30mins pilates w/ Carly (my physio/pilates instructor-extraordinaire) at 2pm and in the late afternoon a 60min ride along the M7 bike path including 5 x 3min hill repeats on a gusty/windy afternoon - 22.8k / av. 22.5k/h /avHR136. I slept well.

Thu: easy strength session at the gym (including pilates) at 6am. Took it very easy due to Friday night's race & feeling a wee bit fatigued.

Fri: I was due to D(eliberately) N(ot) F(inish) my first sprint distance tri at our club race tonight by DNF'ing after the swim & bike legs. I was actually looking forward to this race. If you had told me after the Oly in Canberra 2 weeks ago that one day I would actually be looking forward to a race, I would have told you to stop dreaming ;-) But this race was a bit different; a club race held at twilight & under lights for the first time.

Unfortunately a huge thunderstorm rolled in about 15mins before the race was due to start with lightening striking not too far in the distance. So the powers-that-be made the decision to cancel the swim (I guess they didn't want to fry half of the club if the lightening hit the water) and turned the race in a (run/bike/run) duathlon. Unfortunately this resulted in my DNF becoming a DNS :-( If you had told me 2 weeks ago that I would be disappointed by that outcome, I would have told you to stop dreaming again :-) The race continued as I huddled under a tent as torrential rain fell. The race was actually called off mid-bike due to the rain & low visibility. It wasn't meant to be I guess. So that left me with a rest day & very wet feet.



Sat: rest - Coach TA had given me the option to go out for a hard ride but the rain & crappy conditions but an end to that. 'Twas lovely to catch up with Mouse & NTR over dinner (*waves*)

Sun: had a 90min undulating bike ride on the program. But once again the crappy weather intervened and I did it instead on the trainer listening to podcasts whilst staring at the garage door. Ho hum, it's done. Pilates later this afternoon. 34.4k.

And Chris, this is Operation Alpine :-D

MTD:
Swim: 4.6km
Bike: 57.2k

The ice cream report...

A strange week which has included a gambit of emotions from frustration, anger, malaise to 'stop being such a girl', acceptance, 'f*ck it, I can do this' & steely determination. Thankfully not too much ice cream was injured in the process.

Mon: rest (post-race) & ice cream at the movies with hubby :-)

Tue: 30mins walk followed by pilates (30mins). And more ice cream.

Wed: 2.8km swim at 6am in the pool at work which felt more like an ice bath than pool actually. Though I wasn't complaining after a hot night in Sydney. I felt very flat (both in energy & motivation levels) during the warm up but both improved as the session went on. By the 18 x 50m, I was flying (well, as much as I ever do). Pilates (45mins) in the PM with Carly left me with jelly legs. No ice cream.

Thu: 42min (interval) bike session on the trainer in the garage at 5am. (15.2k). No single leg drills today as I need to (slightly) decondition the anterior muscles in my hip; they are a bit too over-active. Pilates (30min) in the PM.

Fri: 1.5km open water swim in my wetsuit at the Regatta Centre at 6am. As usual, I zigged and zagged but this time remembered to spit (in my goggles).

Sat: strength session at the gym late morning. Unfortunately I probably trashed my legs a touch too much given tomorrow's ride. Another highlight of the day was date night; we went to see Katie Noonan in concert at Taronga. Thankfully the rain held off until her last number. A fantastic night enjoying a picnic & the incredible music (the songs of John Lennon & Paul McCartney performed as only she can) overlooking Sydney harbour. Oh and a custard tart in lieu of ice cream today :-)

Sun: today's program read 90mins ride "easy but on a hilly" route. Personally I don't normally associate "easy" with "hilly". Nonetheless I drove out to Wallacia & did my 90mins out & back along Greendale Road. I felt rather flat during the first 30mins probably due to a combination of fatigued legs from yesterday's session, dead road surface & dehydration. Although the road surface didn't improve, I soon came good & felt strong for the rest of the ride. I know that my strength on the bike is improving. I normally have to stand to climb the one 'steep' hill (300-400m long) but today I was actually able to stay seated the whole way up it. Month 1 of Operation Alpine is complete :-) 34.08km. 22.4k/h av. 1:30:58 More pilates later this afternoon.

At the start of the week, I was tempted to rethink my goals (as, I think, most do - rather impulsively - after a bad race). But I know better than that. I'm glad I didn't ;-)

Totals for January-

MTD:
Swim: 25.75km - my biggest month yet!
Bike: 247.7km

The highlights reel...

Thanks Bruce :-)

I still can't say that I'm in the mood to write a race report. So instead-

Highlights:
- a beautiful clear, still morning in gorgeous Canberra;
- watching hot air balloons float overhead whilst setting up in transitions;
- seeing TA smile AND wave during her blistering bike leg;
- having R & MiniM at the swim start;
- finishing the swim (in what turned out to be a reasonable time) despite having a very unpleasant experience;
- riding my new bike;
- having the best, and loudest, cheer squad of any of the competitors - how can you not smile when there are 10 people cheering for you!
- riding consistent laps on the bike;
- getting kind comments from competitors (as they passed me!)
- not being last out of the swim or off the bike;
- getting a kiss at changeover to R in T2, watching him run & then finish off Team Mango Jelly's race;
- stepping up to the next race distance;
- enjoying a sausage sandwich & coffee while watching the presentation ceremony; and
- getting a solid 2 hour training session (2:02 on the watch) on a beautiful day in one of my favourite places to train.

Lessons learnt:
- remember to use anti-fog in goggles or, if unavailable, spit. Fogged-up goggles make sighting (small) buoys even harder (if not impossible). Heck I even had trouble spotting Black Mountain tower at one stage...
- starting in a mens wave and getting quickly dropped (and lapped) does not necessarily mean that I am hopelessly slow. It's just a (natural) consequence of racing against men.
- a post-swim stomach ache will eventually ease;
- (much) more time on the bike is required. Need to consider riding 3 x p/w.
- Jamaican chocolate cheesecake is great recovery food.

MTD:
Swim: 21.45k
Bike: 198.5k

Why?

I was thinking to myself "Why on earth do we do this to ourselves?" both when I was lying in bed on Saturday night & again as soon as I opened my eyes this morning. I suppose the answer to that question is that we, the 'weekend warriors' of the world who try to find the athlete we know, or suspect, or hope is lurking inside us, understand that the comfort zone isn't actually all that comfortable. However a few times during today's race I thought to myself that perhaps it might be 'tolerably comfortable'.

Other than to say I finished my swim & bike legs without drowning, falling off the bike or spending time in the penalty box, I'm not in the mood to write a race report. To be honest I'm struggling to pull any lessons or highlights (other than getting a kiss from hubby at changeover & Team Mango having the biggest, and loudest, cheer squad) from today's race. So I will simply say to Ruth, CJ & Ewen (*waves*) thank you soooo much for making the effort to come down to the race both on Saturday & Sunday to see us & for the (loud) cheering. I really appreciate it & it was lovely to catch up with you as always. Thanks also to Sue & Bruce for everything - including for not delivering the slap across the head I know both of you wanted to deliver ;-P

3, 2, 1....

A recovery / taper week ahead of the big race (my goal race for the season) this Sunday.

Mon: 30mins pilates before work & then 3km at swim squad. Felt terrible in the water for most of the session. The green frog that I ate minutes before the session started only kicked in with about 30mins to go. Why do you always have cr*p sessions which mess with your head & dent your confidence in the week leading up to your key race for the season? Don't answer that. A rhetorical question; I know the answer of course but still...

Tue: 30min pilates before work; otherwise a rest day. Oh, and my first ever blood donation!

Wed: AM: 2.3kms swim at 6am at the pool at work including 3 x 500m at race pace; my splits 10.33, 10.27, 10.26. I'm not sure whether those times are a sign that I'm pacing myself consistently or that I only have one speed. While it's probably closer to the latter, I'm going with the former. Pilates in the evening.

Thu: an easy 30min bike on the trainer in the garage at 5am (10.7k) followed by 30min pilates before work.

Tomorrow morning (Friday) will be an easy 1km swim down at the Regatta Centre during the club's open water swim & then that's it til the race on Sunday. I only hope my lovely hubby is up for the sub-40min 10k I know that he is capable of ;-) Strangely, despite the fact that it's my 'goal race' for the season, I can’t say that I’m particularly excited about the race day; I'm actually more looking forward to catching up with friends. Stay tuned for the race report...

MTD:
Swim: 18.95km
Bike: 158.5km

Another week closer...

Mon: the first night of swim squad for the year. And what a session, including 500m of sprint kicking with fins (10 x 50m on 1.15) followed by 18 x 100m (on 2.15, 2.10 & 2.05). Hooly. Dooly. 3.15k

Tue: rest :-)

Wed: Pilates (60mins)

Thu: a double day due to an inability to get out of bed on Wed morning after a particularly horrid's nights sleep. 64min bike (interval) session at 5am (23.7k) & then at lunch a 2.3km swim including another 10 x 100m (on 2.20s). If I don't swim another 100m for a week, I'll be happy ;-)

Fri: 1.5km swim at the Regatta Centre at 6am at the club's weekly open water swim. My shoulders were very fatigued after yesterday's swim. About 32min in total (including the wetsuit factor & a few stops to check on how the Mini Mango was going).

Sat: rather than my usual strength session, I was a 'guinea pig' for myself; experimenting with a series of functional movement exercises from a DVD I recently ordered (30min). I started with the Level 1 exercises today. No weights were involved. Just subtle exercises & movement patterns designed to improve ROM and function. It reminded me that body weight & gravity is often under-rated ;-)

Sun: long ride again today & my first ride since Boxing Day on my lonesome :-( I had 2 x 10min @ race pace in the 2hr ride so I stuck to the Northern Road as it is the closest, and most convenient place to do it. I'm glad I started at 7am; it was rather hot by the time I finished. 46.3km. 1:57. Av.23.5k/h. Dropped the bike in for a service afterwards as I have a slightly grumpy rear derailler at the moment.

Plus approx. 30mins of pilates each day (except Wednesday).

Ready for the race next week; well, as ready as I'm going to be. Recovery & taper this week before heading to Canberra on Sunday. Hopefully we can actually enter. The entry system isn't accepting team entries for some reason that the race organisers are unable to work out....

MTD:
Swim: 13.65km
Bike: 147.8km

Operation Alpine

I can't believe that I've only been back at work for 1 week after Christmas; it feels sooo much longer ;-)

Unfortunately I managed to upset my dodgy ankle in the gym last Saturday which saw me using ice & compression on it on Saturday evening & Sunday. Not too much damage; the treatment was more a result of fear of what I might have done to it rather than any actual evidence of damage to it.

Mon: back to work. So I struggled through to mid-afternoon & then headed to the pool at work for a 2km swim. A strange swim; I felt rather uncoordinated in the water to start with - as though my timing was slightly off - but it came together & felt pretty good through 1.2km of firm efforts.

Tue: rest

Wed: arrived at the pool at work at 6am to discover it was closed for maintenance. Argh! Very annoyed as I really had to psych myself up for the swim ahead. So I headed to the gym for what I thought would be a half-arsed strength session but actually turned into quite a good session; I trashed my legs :-) Pilates in the PM.

Thu: hard interval bike session at 5am. Sooooo nice to be on the bike again. I am loving riding at the moment. Can't wait to get out there again on Sunday. Good thing too given that I have some big bike goals in the next 2 years :-D 17.1k

Fri: rest. I had planned to go to the open water swim at the Regatta Centre in the morning but as I am not very fond of backing up 2 days in a row (knowing that I had Wed's swim to do tomorrow), I stayed in bed :-) I then took my swim gear to work in the hope I would be able to swim at lunch. No such luck. The pool was (still) closed for maintenance. So I went to yum cha for lunch instead :-))

Sat: 2.5km swim in my own lane at 8.30am in the sun. Nice. Included 1.8km at race pace which is my longest non-stop swim today. Given that the 1.8km set was intended to replicate a race scenario, I also managed to inhale a mouthful of water & had to stop briefly mid-lap to cough it up (as I tend to do at least once in each race). It took me 39mins which is a tad slower than I would have liked. I have real trouble pacing myself in the pool. I always hold myself back (perhaps too much) in the first half of the swim out of fear of 'running out of steam' later. Oh well, I guess it will comes with practice & more racing.

Sun: when the alarm went off at 4.10am, I couldn't but think to myself 'what a stoopid sport'. Of course it was entirely my decision to head to Terrey Hills to meet Sue et al for a long ride around Akuna Bay & West Head starting at 6am. It was my first time at the infamous AB / WH area so all I knew to expect was hills.

And I got them in spades. We started with an 'easy' 30mins round trip out to Duffys Forest to wake up the legs (for a while I thought that I may have left them at home) before heading down to Akuna Bay. Our stop at West Head was rather prolonged thanks to my chain jamming itself between the cassette & spokes, requiring 2 complete strangers & 20mins to get out. A hard & challenging ride on a hot morning. I'll be spending a bit more time out here in this year. I managed to devour half of the bakery after I had finished the ride. Felt pretty shattered for much of the afternoon; (despite having a full breakfast) I probably didn't have enough fuel during it (2 gels) 2:48. 57.1km. Av. 20.4k/h

2 weeks to go until the Oly at Canberra which will be my longest race to date!

MTD:
Swim: 6.7km
Bike: 74.2k

The name's Athlete. Professional Athlete.

Well that's how it felt this week when (for the first time since I can remember) I had the joy of staying at home during holidays. It's probably been 5+ years since I last did that. So this week has basically been occupied by training, eating, sleeping & reading. Nice :-)

Mon: my training week started nicely with a sleep-in :-) followed by a 2.5km swim consisting of lots of drills. Thanks to the rain the pool was largely empty. Nice way to start the week!

Tue: thanks to being on holidays, I was able to switch the order of my training sessions in order to join TigerAngel for a long ride along the M7 bike path. Thankfully the rain had cleared so it turned out to be surprisingly warm by the end. It was great to catch up with TA; thanks for the company. Finished with 2:26. 55.58km. Av.22.7k/h. AvC85.

Wed: another long swim, this time 2.9km. I didn't feel quite as strong in the water to start with but my performance didn't drop off as much as I thought it might.

Thu: Loving living life as professional athlete at the moment - even though it meant leaving home at 6am to get to Bobbin Head in time to join TigerAngel for another ride, this time hill repeats up the Turramurra side of Bobbin Head. 3 hill repeats for me as I (and TA's cycling buddy Jan) played domestique for TA as she powered up the hill 4 times. While I only seemed to notice the rain when going downhill, it was either raining or drizzling for most of the ride which was good practice riding in the rain which is something I don't often do; I tend to retire to the trainer in the garage at the first sign of rain. It was also nice to get out on the bike twice in one week; I normally only do one ride on the road each week with the rest of my sessions on the trainer. Finished with coffee in Turramurra where we were joined by Gnome (*waves*). In all a lovely morning. :-) 1:39. 28.97km. Av. 17.4k/h

Fri: I enjoyed Thursday's ride and coffee so much I woke on Friday morning wanting to do it again. Alas, I had a swim on my program. The pool didn't open until 10am so it was a good excuse to sleep-in. Not that I needed a sleep-in after falling asleep about 11pm on NYE (*she blushes*). The new year started with a 2.2km swim which started with 1.6km straight (sans warm-up) to simulate a race scenario. The 1.6km component took about 34mins which is a tad slow but still it was my longest non-stop swim ever so it was a good confidence booster ahead of the Oly in Canberra later this month.

Sat: strength session at the gym.

Rest day tomorrow (Sunday).

Thursday's session of course brought the month of December (and the year) to an end. Despite December being a busy month, I managed to complete almost all of my sessions. It was also my biggest month in the pool (by far) to date -

Swim - 23.4km (!!)
Bike - 264.6km

Since June 2009 (which is when I started keeping a tally of my training) to the end of 2009, I swum 94.7km & ridden 1,553.1km! Bring on 2010; the year of the hill :-)

MTD:
Swim: 2.2km

2009 - what a ride...

Recovering...

From Christmas, training, work, Christmas functions, too much food, too much alcohol – you name it…

Mon: 2.95km at swim squad tonight. More than made up for my laziness last weekend I think. What a way to start a recovery week ;-)

Tue: rest

Wed: strength session in the gym at work at 6am followed by the last of my Christmas shopping :-) I was supposed to do a bike session in the afternoon but a family drama put an end to that.

Thu: for a change in scenery, R & I headed down to the Regatta Centre for the tri club's weekly open water swim. 1.5km in my new wetsuit; I'm in love :-)

Fri: rest (Christmas Day)

Sat: thanks to the rain I did my 90mins ride on the trainer staring at the garage wall. Thankfully I had some podcasts on the iPod to keep me company. Approx. 37km. AvC86

Sun: (more unscheduled) rest

I am on holidays this week – I can’t remember the last time I was on holidays from work & actually stayed home – so I’m looking forward to getting stuck into the training & living the life of a professional athlete for the next week; eat, sleep, train, read :-)

MTD:
Swim – 18.05km
Bike – 180.1km

Restless....

I was very restless, particularly early in the week, due to a combination of frustration at my work, study & business situation as well as a return of my mojo. I certainly was inspired by watching the Canberra HIM last weekend; I sat down this week & started working on an outline of my race calendar for 2010. I haven't done that in years. Not only because I have been injured in recent years (or have had my focus on other things, eg climbing) but due to the frustration I have felt so many times as a result of planning a season but then not being able to achieve any of it due to injury. I'm almost too scared to think about it lest I jinx myself... Fingers crossed.

Mon: swim squad & again I have no idea of the distance because I loose count & forget what we did. So let's just go with 2.5km. 800m with paddles & 800m kick. Ouchy.

Tue: rest

Wed: strength session in the gym at work before work, focusing particularly on my pilates exercises. Then in the evening, I headed back to the Regatta Centre for the last night of the cycling program run by the Penrith Cycling Club. Started the night by spending about 40mins doing bunch rides around the Regatta Centre & then headed into one of the rooms for some nibblies & soft drinks, to re-cap what we had covered & to speak about the races conducted by the club. It looks like the program will continue in late January with a view to getting us up to the point of being able to join bunch races. 20.3k

Thu: 2.5km swim at the pool at work during lunch. A really god session; I felt like I was moving well through the water :-)

Fri: 30mins pilates

Yet despite my restlessness after last weekend’s race, I managed to brush both Saturday’s swim & Sunday’s ride :-) Late nights on both Friday night (CR drinks in the city) and Saturday night (dinner at Chez Lulu & WTR) meant that sleep was a much greater priority than training. I can’t remember the last time I did that; it must have been months (if not years) ago. Nice way to start an (extended) recovery week :-)

In other news, we picked up our wedding photos from our photographer on Saturday. It’s going to take a while before I can cull down the 850+ photos to a ‘highlights reel’…

MTD:
Swim - 13.6k
Bike - 143.1k

The taming of the mojo...

Bro, it's completely natural to be attracted to a bike ;-) And in answer to your question TA, I'm actually the last in the household to get a roadie. Roslyn got one for her birthday earlier this year.

Catching up from last week-

Mon: about 2.5km at swim squad including lots of drills. I felt really flat in the water for the first 30mins but improved over the course of the session. The absence of B+ seems to be reflected in decreased numbers again; we were down to 8 tonight. A few very helpful tips from tonight's coach I think has uncovered (hopefully) the reason for my dodgy catch on my LHS. Time will tell.

Tue: rest

Wed: strength + core session in the gym before work. Then after work it was off to the cycling program run by the Penrith Cycling Club with the newest love of my life ;-) A carbon bike (that fits its rider properly) is a joy to ride :-) The program covered a lot of ground: 15km TT around the Regatta Centre with a large bunch (+ 1 x duck which was very lucky to make it out alive) & then lots of skills work; slalom riding through cones (first slow, then as fast as possible, then using only one hand, with another rider along side, then with your hand resting of your buddy's shoulder - which scares me), a relay race which basically involved 4 x 60m sprints off a standing start & a few other odd things. I am really enjoying the program & although it is due to finish next week, it looks like it may continue through the rest of summer. 19.4k.

Thu: 2.4km swim at lunch. Hard session due to a combination of DOMS from yesterday's strength session & a slight lack of fuel.

Fri: 30mins pilates. Thankfully I resisted the temptation to ask the question that every physio must dread; "when do you think it's likely that I can start running again?" I want to know but at the same time, I don't want to know...I must have my mojo back if I'm even thinking about asking...

Sat: busy, busy day in Canberra which started with a 1.53 ride out from Gordon in the south of the city towards Tidbinbilla on my (still as yet unnamed) bike. I had 2 hours easy w/ 2 x 5min @ race pace on the program. Thankfully it was a beautiful ride as it turned out to be neither easy nor at race pace. R had given me directions to head in & had mentioned that there was one big climb at the 7km mark. He forgot to tell me about the ones that followed -



Very pleased with my bike. I couldn't have believed the difference that a carbon bike makes but it was certainly noticeable, particularly on the hills. Unfortunately the better bike still can't make up for my lack of ability to climb. But at least now I'll be a tad more comfortable trying. Finished with 40.2km. Av.21.3k/h.

Later in the afternoon we caught up over a meal with Strewth, Ewen & CJ (*waves*)

Sun: rest - if getting up at 4.15am, cheering, watching, eating bacon & egg rolls, drinking coffee, working on a bike aid station for 2 hours in the hot sun at the Canberra HIM & then driving home from the southern side of Canberra whilst your hubby sleeps in the passenger seat can be considered rest ;-) Seriously I had a great day cheering on R & my good friend Rach as they both blitzed the course in very difficult (hot) conditions. Bring on Port Mac in March :-)

MTD:
Swim - 8.6km
Bike - 122.8km

Let me introduce you...

...to the newest addition to my family :-)



Picked her up this afternoon, just in time to take her to the Penrith Cycling Club program tonight. She looks even hotter in the flesh (so to speak). She is however, as yet, unnamed. All suggestions welcomed!

Flying high

I started the week on a post race high - I'd almost forgotten what it felt like! Who am I kidding - I had forgotten what it was like. I was on such a high after the race that I even started checking the tri calendar for the rest of the season. However I'm so far off running again that I can't bring myself to think about races that involve running yet....

Mon: about 1.9km at swim squad. Our usual squad of 20-24 dwindled to 9 tonight no doubt due to Sunday's race. More talking than swimming tonight which was exactly what I needed. The body pulled up fine after the race though I was a bit sleepy-tired today.

Tues: rest

Wed: strength + core strength session in the gym before work.

Then after work, it was back to the Regatta Centre for the next installment of the women's cycling program conducted by the Penrith Cycling Club. Started by practising last weeks skills (riding in bunches, leaning over to pick up traffic cones whilst riding etc). Then we did some skills with the bike whilst standing including several 60min sprints off a rolling start. A 5km 2-woman team TT around the Regatta Centre followed so we could experience the advantage that riding in an echelon gives (and as an example of the difference it makes, my partner & I rode 1min 15sec faster than my sole effort around the Regatta Centre last week). And then we finished the session with a bunch ride around the Regatta Centre (trying to) stay on the wheel of the person in front; that takes real steadiness, confidence & trust, none of which I have (yet)....15.8k

Thu: a hard 1.9km swim (incl 1.2k @ 80% PE) in mid-afternoon. I actually skipped a Xmas drinks function to do this swim. Someone take my temperature; I must be sick ;-)

Fri: my first pilates session with my physio/pilates instructor. It was supposed to be 30mins but turned into 50mins. I have oh so much work to do. I seem to waiver between being full of hope & being depressed at the amount of work required depending on the time of day…

Sat: after a sleep-in, I headed to the pool mid-morning for a 1.8km swim which started with 1.2km @ race pace. Straight up with no warm up. Intended to simulate a race situation as (let's be honest) I never warm up. Ouchy.

Sun: well, it was supposed to be an easy 2hr ride until (a) I bumped into my (6 x IM) Uncle Kel just as I was about to start & ended up riding the first 20mins with him (!); and (b) headed for the Greendale Road loop for something different. Greendale is hilly and the road surface is dead making it a tough ride; and (c) I managed what I like to refer to as a 'lying dismount' - ie I was unable to get my foot out while stopping suddenly at an intersection.

Still I got my 2hr ride done. The sore knee & hand are an added bonus ;-) 47.46k. 2:01:34. Av. 23.4k/h

Monday’s session brought November to a close; what a month it has been (in more ways than one) -
Swim: 9.3km
Bike: 148.7km

In other news, I have officially been awarded my Certificate III in Fitness :-) I had finished all the coursework before the wedding so I've had a few weeks off. But it's time to get started on Certificate IV now - there goes all my spare time...

MTD:
Swim: 3.7km
Bike: 63.2k