Wow. Except when I've been in the mountains far from electricity, I've never gone so long without updating my blog!
I'm not sure whether that is a reflection of how little, or how much, is going on in my life at the moment - but I suspect the latter.
Over the last month, I have launched a Thursday night group personal training session in Penrith which was a bit stressful to start with but has been very fun. In other news, I have also had another article published on the Triathlon Week website in the States. You can read my article here if you are interested.
As of last weekend, I have also switching to part time work in my 'day job' (ie. law) for the first time in my life. I made the decision to do this when I accepted my (then) new job in December so that I could have more time to develop and work on my clients. So I'm feeling rather anxious at the moment.
As for exercise, it has been rather haphazard of late. I don't have a program at the moment and only 2 goals on the horizon; the earliest of which is not until September. So all exercise has been for the purpose of remaining sane (rather than racing) which I have actually quite enjoyed. I haven't swum, eg, in about 2 months now. And I haven't missed it at all :)
So that's about all that is going on the Jeniverse at the moment. I will endeavour to keep this blog updated even if there isn't much interesting going on!
Off to Port Macquarie on Thusday as R is racing in Ironman Australia next weekend. Looking forward to getting away, catching up with some family & friends & maybe having a day off (which I haven't done in a long time!)
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Sunday, April 03, 2011
There was movement at the station...
Finally some training. Not much but enough to make me happy - of course after 2.5 weeks without any training something, anything is better! On Monday after work, I headed to the gym (yippee!) for my physio-ordered exercises & a short strength session (yippee!). It's official - I'm a gym junkie. I lurve my weight sessions!
I had planned to run on Tuesday morning but it became a rest day when I ended up with morning taxi duties so that R could get his long run done. He owes me one ;-)
I finally headed out on Wednesday morning for that long awaited walk/shuffle (aka run). Huski, 2.5 weeks ago was the last time I ran. Apart from the occasional attempt to cough up a lung when my breathing was a tad laboured, I was surprised at how good I felt during the run. 25mins in total. And, most importantly, my hip was fine on Thursday morning :-))
Speaking of which, on Thursday morning I met Sue at Parramatta Park for what is becoming our regular walk & catch-up. I think we have both missed our weekend long rides so it's nice to be able to catch up on an (almost) weekly basis while she recuperates from her crash. 2 laps of the park (6.05km) in 65mins whilst the rain held off was a lovely start to the day & a nice way to start to get my walking legs in order....;-)
Friday included a visit to the city to see the physio but otherwise another rest day. Saturday morning saw me learn a secret handshake as part of my introduction to the kettlebell society :-) I stayed with Mr & Mrs K on Friday night in Bronte so I could join them, and Miss E, for their usual kettlebell session on Saturday morning. I've only used KBs previously as a substitute for a dumbbell on occasion. I was also looking forward to learning from Mike, the physio who takes the session, as his philosophy and approach to training is very similar to mine.
In all, it was a fun, and fascinating, hour. Not much of a workout for me as I was restricted to learning the basic skills - fair enough; I would do the same with my clients. But I have to say that I am probably a better trainer for the experience. I'm looking forward to doing more sessions down there in the future.
And today (Sunday) I finally dusted my bike off and went for a ride. Given that it has been 3 weeks since my last ride, I settled for a short 81mins ride along the Castlereagh Road including 3 x 5mins to retain, or gain, some semblance of speed in my legs. I tried to cough up my lungs once or twice but otherwise it felt great to be riding again. On the way home from my ride, I dropped in briefly to the Regatta Centre where the Club was holding a race. As it turned out I was just in time to see Mini Mango finish. Unfortunately I couldn't stay for long as I had a family commitment to get to. 81mins. 31.69k/h
Looking forward to even more training this week - which would be good when you compare it to my totals for March :-0
Swim - 0.3km
Bike - 79.07km
Walk - 4.5kms!
Probably my lowest totals since I got back from my travels in March 2009!
MTD
Bike - 31.69km
Walk - 6.06km
I had planned to run on Tuesday morning but it became a rest day when I ended up with morning taxi duties so that R could get his long run done. He owes me one ;-)
I finally headed out on Wednesday morning for that long awaited walk/shuffle (aka run). Huski, 2.5 weeks ago was the last time I ran. Apart from the occasional attempt to cough up a lung when my breathing was a tad laboured, I was surprised at how good I felt during the run. 25mins in total. And, most importantly, my hip was fine on Thursday morning :-))
Speaking of which, on Thursday morning I met Sue at Parramatta Park for what is becoming our regular walk & catch-up. I think we have both missed our weekend long rides so it's nice to be able to catch up on an (almost) weekly basis while she recuperates from her crash. 2 laps of the park (6.05km) in 65mins whilst the rain held off was a lovely start to the day & a nice way to start to get my walking legs in order....;-)
Friday included a visit to the city to see the physio but otherwise another rest day. Saturday morning saw me learn a secret handshake as part of my introduction to the kettlebell society :-) I stayed with Mr & Mrs K on Friday night in Bronte so I could join them, and Miss E, for their usual kettlebell session on Saturday morning. I've only used KBs previously as a substitute for a dumbbell on occasion. I was also looking forward to learning from Mike, the physio who takes the session, as his philosophy and approach to training is very similar to mine.
In all, it was a fun, and fascinating, hour. Not much of a workout for me as I was restricted to learning the basic skills - fair enough; I would do the same with my clients. But I have to say that I am probably a better trainer for the experience. I'm looking forward to doing more sessions down there in the future.
And today (Sunday) I finally dusted my bike off and went for a ride. Given that it has been 3 weeks since my last ride, I settled for a short 81mins ride along the Castlereagh Road including 3 x 5mins to retain, or gain, some semblance of speed in my legs. I tried to cough up my lungs once or twice but otherwise it felt great to be riding again. On the way home from my ride, I dropped in briefly to the Regatta Centre where the Club was holding a race. As it turned out I was just in time to see Mini Mango finish. Unfortunately I couldn't stay for long as I had a family commitment to get to. 81mins. 31.69k/h
Looking forward to even more training this week - which would be good when you compare it to my totals for March :-0
Swim - 0.3km
Bike - 79.07km
Walk - 4.5kms!
Probably my lowest totals since I got back from my travels in March 2009!
MTD
Bike - 31.69km
Walk - 6.06km
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Zero, zip, nada
Another of those weeks. Unfortunately I have been unable to shake my cold so other than an easy recovery & regen session on Wednesday, I've done zero, zip, nada this week. Wednesday's session was done purely for the purpose of getting some blood packed full of nutrients & oxygen flowing in, and some of the crap toxins being sick & a lack of movement produces, out of my body. Easy 10mins on the bike @ <65% MHR then stretching & foam rolling. Hopefully this week can see a return to training. Though there isn't any rush; my next race isn't for 6 months!
Sunday, March 20, 2011
C'est la vie...
Short & sweet update today as I have very little to report this week.
I came home from Huski on Monday fired up (more fired up than I have been in recent months I must say) to get stuck into some speed work over the next 3 weeks ahead of my final race of the season.
Unfortunately the universe had other plans for me.
My 86 year old grandmother fell last Sunday & broke her wrist so I spent most of Monday to Wednesday at the hospital with her. She suffers from Parkinsons disease and dementia (which is a common side affect for Parkinsons sufferers apparently) so she was very vague, scared & uncertain. A difficult start to the week physically (due to a lack of sleep) and emotionally (needless to say).
Then Wednesday night I started to develop a sore throat which has since developed into a bad cold.
So my exercise for the week consisted of a grand total of 60mins walking with TigerAngel around Parramatta Park on Thursday morning & a few physio-order pilates exercises when I had some spare time.
My cold is quite bad today - between you & me, I think R is enjoying my husky voice at the moment - so I imagine it will be mid-week before I feel human enough to train again.
C'est la vie.
I came home from Huski on Monday fired up (more fired up than I have been in recent months I must say) to get stuck into some speed work over the next 3 weeks ahead of my final race of the season.
Unfortunately the universe had other plans for me.
My 86 year old grandmother fell last Sunday & broke her wrist so I spent most of Monday to Wednesday at the hospital with her. She suffers from Parkinsons disease and dementia (which is a common side affect for Parkinsons sufferers apparently) so she was very vague, scared & uncertain. A difficult start to the week physically (due to a lack of sleep) and emotionally (needless to say).
Then Wednesday night I started to develop a sore throat which has since developed into a bad cold.
So my exercise for the week consisted of a grand total of 60mins walking with TigerAngel around Parramatta Park on Thursday morning & a few physio-order pilates exercises when I had some spare time.
My cold is quite bad today - between you & me, I think R is enjoying my husky voice at the moment - so I imagine it will be mid-week before I feel human enough to train again.
C'est la vie.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
A race, my kingdom for a race...
An interesting week. I have been a flat the last week or two - really since I had the viral infection - but I have finally felt back to 'normal' again this week. I have also decided to get (really) disciplined again with my nutrition after I let it slide for a bit after Christmas & have lost 1.1kg in 2 weeks which is a good weight loss for me, especially given that I only wanted to lose 4kgs. 2.9kg to go :-)
Mon: After a late change of plan on Sunday night, for something different I headed off to my happy place on a Monday morning (aka the gym) for a solid strength session. Lots of push-ups & squats left me feeling like I had certainly had a solid workout - not to mention wondering how on earth I was going to make it through swim squad that night :-0
Turns out I didn't have to worry about swim squad as I got home late from work & had some SPARTA business to attend to :-D
Tue & Wed: rest - except for a massage on Tuesday night & a visit to the physio on Wednesday morning which involved some painful massage & some glute torturing pilates.
Thu: my first pre-work bike session in some time (*she blushes*). A late meeting in the city meant that I was lucky enough to sleep-in until 5.30am before doing this session. Spent 45mins on the windtrainer in the garage doing a rather eclectic session which included 2 x 6 mins efforts at race pace with a 4min recovery as well as some short, fast sprints to see if I could find some fast twitch fibres before my race on Saturday. 16.37km
Fri: rest. A day off work, a bit of a sleep-in, a visit to an osteopath for the first time which was absolutely fascinating and a road trip to Huskisson for a weekend of racing :-)
Sat: Mini Mango & I raced the enticer on a beautiful calm & still morning at Huskisson. The race didn't start until the decadent hour of 10am which meant we were able to enjoy a sleep-in. A very popular race; there were 265 women alone, 104 of which were in my age group & lots of newbies (which became very evident on the ride).
The swim was, quite simply, feral. I have never been kicked so many times in any other race. The course was, also, I think a bit long adding to the 'experience'. Touched ground (finally) and then run up the sand & stairs to transition. Mini Mango passed me just after I ran over the timing mat - phew - my record of beating her in the swim remained intact :-)
In T1, I took my time as I was trying to get my HR down & then set out on the bike. To say I was pleased to get off the bike would be an understatement. It was almost dangerous there; people with NFI basically. Overtaking on the inside, overtaking without checking for people behind them, blocking (ie moving to the right to overtake and then sitting there and not actually overtaking), people riding down the middle of the road etc etc.
T2 had another long run so again I took my time to change my shoes in an effort to get my HR down & then set out on the run. For the first time since this my 1,000,000th return to running, I managed to run the whole run leg - a grand total of 2kms - without stopping! Bugger all compared to what others around me are doing but a small victory for me. It's a shame the run was short (I think) - there was no way I was running 6min/kms!
After withdrawing from both the HIM/70.3 race at Port Macquarie as well as the ITU Olympic distance race in Sydney next month, it was nice to finally race.
I do feel better about the race after looking at the results: 44:34 for 300m swim (supposedly) / 8k bike / 2km run (supposedly). I was 29th out of 104 women in my age group & in the top 30% of all 265 women who did the race. Enjoyed a celebratory HUGE ice cream later in the afternoon to celebrate :-)
Sun: rest if you call cheering on a hot day for almost 7 hours, rest. Still it was a good warm up for a certain long day coming up in Port Mac in 7 weeks time.
MTD:
Swim: 300m (!)
Bike: 79.07km
Mon: After a late change of plan on Sunday night, for something different I headed off to my happy place on a Monday morning (aka the gym) for a solid strength session. Lots of push-ups & squats left me feeling like I had certainly had a solid workout - not to mention wondering how on earth I was going to make it through swim squad that night :-0
Turns out I didn't have to worry about swim squad as I got home late from work & had some SPARTA business to attend to :-D
Tue & Wed: rest - except for a massage on Tuesday night & a visit to the physio on Wednesday morning which involved some painful massage & some glute torturing pilates.
Thu: my first pre-work bike session in some time (*she blushes*). A late meeting in the city meant that I was lucky enough to sleep-in until 5.30am before doing this session. Spent 45mins on the windtrainer in the garage doing a rather eclectic session which included 2 x 6 mins efforts at race pace with a 4min recovery as well as some short, fast sprints to see if I could find some fast twitch fibres before my race on Saturday. 16.37km
Fri: rest. A day off work, a bit of a sleep-in, a visit to an osteopath for the first time which was absolutely fascinating and a road trip to Huskisson for a weekend of racing :-)
Sat: Mini Mango & I raced the enticer on a beautiful calm & still morning at Huskisson. The race didn't start until the decadent hour of 10am which meant we were able to enjoy a sleep-in. A very popular race; there were 265 women alone, 104 of which were in my age group & lots of newbies (which became very evident on the ride).
The swim was, quite simply, feral. I have never been kicked so many times in any other race. The course was, also, I think a bit long adding to the 'experience'. Touched ground (finally) and then run up the sand & stairs to transition. Mini Mango passed me just after I ran over the timing mat - phew - my record of beating her in the swim remained intact :-)
In T1, I took my time as I was trying to get my HR down & then set out on the bike. To say I was pleased to get off the bike would be an understatement. It was almost dangerous there; people with NFI basically. Overtaking on the inside, overtaking without checking for people behind them, blocking (ie moving to the right to overtake and then sitting there and not actually overtaking), people riding down the middle of the road etc etc.
T2 had another long run so again I took my time to change my shoes in an effort to get my HR down & then set out on the run. For the first time since this my 1,000,000th return to running, I managed to run the whole run leg - a grand total of 2kms - without stopping! Bugger all compared to what others around me are doing but a small victory for me. It's a shame the run was short (I think) - there was no way I was running 6min/kms!
After withdrawing from both the HIM/70.3 race at Port Macquarie as well as the ITU Olympic distance race in Sydney next month, it was nice to finally race.
I do feel better about the race after looking at the results: 44:34 for 300m swim (supposedly) / 8k bike / 2km run (supposedly). I was 29th out of 104 women in my age group & in the top 30% of all 265 women who did the race. Enjoyed a celebratory HUGE ice cream later in the afternoon to celebrate :-)
Sun: rest if you call cheering on a hot day for almost 7 hours, rest. Still it was a good warm up for a certain long day coming up in Port Mac in 7 weeks time.
MTD:
Swim: 300m (!)
Bike: 79.07km
Sunday, March 06, 2011
Another week, another 7 crazy days...
Mon: rest day. My passport & I spent the day in the Shire attending a seminar by Thomas Meyer who is the guru in the field of fascia. Learnt alot that I can use when training my clients
Tue: up early for a 25min walk/shuffle. Thankfully it felt much easier than last week's aborted session. Sometime during the run I made the decision to switch from the sprint race at Husky next weekend to the enticer event. I would love to do a sprint race; I have actually never done one in all my years in triathlon. But I'm not ready for it yet & I'm not prepared to delay my recovery for one race this late in the season.
Wed: rest. Saw my physio in the morning to talk about the progress I have made since he put me in the preggie belt 18 months ago. The plan is to shake up my rehab a little bit in the hope that I can make the next step forward. I had planned a gym visit in the afternoon but forgot to pack my shoes :-(
Thu: up early for a visit to my happy place - aka the gym - for a strength session. I had planned to go to the open water swim held by PTC at the Regatta Centre & go to the gym tonight. But on checking my diary I realised that I had an appointment in the evening precluding my gym visit. So, faced with the choice between a swim & a gym visit, I made the natural decision - off to the gym I went :-))
Fri: rest
Sat: rest day - if you consider 3 hours sleep, getting up at 12.30am, driving for an hour, volunteering at WWoT's Coastrek event at the finish line in Coogee from 2am to midday & then driving home, rest :-) Seriously had a wonderful day catching up with some lovely people I only see once a year & being inspired to do something I have always wanted to do.... :-))
Sun: a 2 hour nap yesterday afternoon followed by 9 hours sleep last night left me feeling human again. So I headed out for an easy 2hr ride to Windsor & Richmond with R before coming home via the Coffee Club for a mid-ride coffee & (shared) banana bread. So many PTC members are out training at the moment - it's great to see! 54.7km in 2:25
Off to beautiful Huskisson on Friday for the weekend's racing. Looking forward to getting out of Sydney for a few days
MTD:
Bike: 54.7km
Tue: up early for a 25min walk/shuffle. Thankfully it felt much easier than last week's aborted session. Sometime during the run I made the decision to switch from the sprint race at Husky next weekend to the enticer event. I would love to do a sprint race; I have actually never done one in all my years in triathlon. But I'm not ready for it yet & I'm not prepared to delay my recovery for one race this late in the season.
Wed: rest. Saw my physio in the morning to talk about the progress I have made since he put me in the preggie belt 18 months ago. The plan is to shake up my rehab a little bit in the hope that I can make the next step forward. I had planned a gym visit in the afternoon but forgot to pack my shoes :-(
Thu: up early for a visit to my happy place - aka the gym - for a strength session. I had planned to go to the open water swim held by PTC at the Regatta Centre & go to the gym tonight. But on checking my diary I realised that I had an appointment in the evening precluding my gym visit. So, faced with the choice between a swim & a gym visit, I made the natural decision - off to the gym I went :-))
Fri: rest
Sat: rest day - if you consider 3 hours sleep, getting up at 12.30am, driving for an hour, volunteering at WWoT's Coastrek event at the finish line in Coogee from 2am to midday & then driving home, rest :-) Seriously had a wonderful day catching up with some lovely people I only see once a year & being inspired to do something I have always wanted to do.... :-))
Sun: a 2 hour nap yesterday afternoon followed by 9 hours sleep last night left me feeling human again. So I headed out for an easy 2hr ride to Windsor & Richmond with R before coming home via the Coffee Club for a mid-ride coffee & (shared) banana bread. So many PTC members are out training at the moment - it's great to see! 54.7km in 2:25
Off to beautiful Huskisson on Friday for the weekend's racing. Looking forward to getting out of Sydney for a few days
MTD:
Bike: 54.7km
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Softly, softly
For once, a rather short post as I have little to report this week.
On Monday, I was up at 6am (a sleep-in for me) after a decent nights sleep for a 25min walk/shuffle. Despite the solid nights sleep, I woke feeling tired & my walk/shuffle only confirmed it. I ended up walking much more than I normally do. Swollen glands in my neck (which I discovered the day before) led to a doctor's visit later on Monday morning which confirmed that I was coming down with some sort of viral infection. Not surprisingly given how smashed I felt after the (short) walk from the train station to my desk at work.
So I took 2 days off work & did no training until I headed to the gym on Saturday afternoon for a strength session. I am really missing:
(a) the gym and
(b) my muscles
at the moment so it was nice to get back to my happy place after basically a week of inactivity. Thankfully it was a recovery week anyway so I haven't missed much in the way of heavy training.
Sunday morning saw me get out of bed almost immediately after my alarm went off in an effort to avoid talking myself out of going for my long ride. As I only had a 2 hour ride on the cards, I decided an easy 2 hour ride out to Richmond & back was the way to go. The first 30mins of this ride was, by far, the longest 30mins of the week; it seemed to drag on. But eventually I found my mojo & enjoyed a quiet ride while the clouds did their best to rain on me. There was a light drizzle of rain for much of the ride - which was a nice change from the heat of late - with the rain only getting a little heavier within about 20mins from home. Finished with 48.01km in total
Back into training this week (I hope). This week is going to be particularly exhausting. I have far too much on my plate at the moment & permanently feel like I'm either trying to catch up (which never happens) or just keep my head above water. I guess there is only one thing to do in the circumstances; as Nemo would say "just keep swimming, just keep swimming".
MTD:
Swim: 3.85km
Bike: 172.1km
On Monday, I was up at 6am (a sleep-in for me) after a decent nights sleep for a 25min walk/shuffle. Despite the solid nights sleep, I woke feeling tired & my walk/shuffle only confirmed it. I ended up walking much more than I normally do. Swollen glands in my neck (which I discovered the day before) led to a doctor's visit later on Monday morning which confirmed that I was coming down with some sort of viral infection. Not surprisingly given how smashed I felt after the (short) walk from the train station to my desk at work.
So I took 2 days off work & did no training until I headed to the gym on Saturday afternoon for a strength session. I am really missing:
(a) the gym and
(b) my muscles
at the moment so it was nice to get back to my happy place after basically a week of inactivity. Thankfully it was a recovery week anyway so I haven't missed much in the way of heavy training.
Sunday morning saw me get out of bed almost immediately after my alarm went off in an effort to avoid talking myself out of going for my long ride. As I only had a 2 hour ride on the cards, I decided an easy 2 hour ride out to Richmond & back was the way to go. The first 30mins of this ride was, by far, the longest 30mins of the week; it seemed to drag on. But eventually I found my mojo & enjoyed a quiet ride while the clouds did their best to rain on me. There was a light drizzle of rain for much of the ride - which was a nice change from the heat of late - with the rain only getting a little heavier within about 20mins from home. Finished with 48.01km in total
Back into training this week (I hope). This week is going to be particularly exhausting. I have far too much on my plate at the moment & permanently feel like I'm either trying to catch up (which never happens) or just keep my head above water. I guess there is only one thing to do in the circumstances; as Nemo would say "just keep swimming, just keep swimming".
MTD:
Swim: 3.85km
Bike: 172.1km
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Busy bee...
To say the last 2 weeks have been crazy is probably an understatement. I normally update my blog on Sunday nights & then look at my training program and plan out the rest of the week so I can get my training sessions done (at least most of them) around my normal commitments. Not only did I not update my blog on Sunday last week (obviously), I confess that I didn't even OPEN my training program for the week until, um, Wednesday night. My hip has also been playing up. Again. C'est la vie.
Mon 7th: no run in the morning as I was training a client :-)
In the evening, I tried to come up with every possible reason not to go to swim squad. But even leaving work at 6.30pm & visiting 2 potential venues of a group PT session I am planning to launch soon still left me with plenty of time to get to squad. Bugger. So I went. And I did it. And I was reasonably happy with how I swam, particularly given that I have only swim twice in the last month. Approx. 2.1km
Wed 9th: 60mins of core-torturing pilates in the morning followed by my 20min walk/shuffle in the evening. Probably not the best of idea; my glutes were probably a bit fatigued. My hip confirmed the next morning that it wasn't :-(
Thu 10th: 1.5km open water swim at the Regatta Centre watching the sky change from pink to blue. Great way to start the day!
Sat 12th: dragged myself out of bed about 7.30am for a ride. I was feeling decidedly unenergetic this morning but eventually got moving. An overcast morning with clouds that hinted of rain actually lifted my spirits; I wasn't looking forward to another hot ride.
As it was, the clouds didn't just hint of rain. About 30sec after getting on bike, it started to rain. Ick. Thankfully it didn't last for too long. 71min ride -including 3 x 6mins efforts with 4min easy recovery. The first two efforts didn't feel too hard. I worked out why when I turned around and headed for home. A headwind made the last effort much more painful & even the 'easy' cool down ride home was a struggle. 27.7km.
Thu 17th: dragged myself out of bed at 5.15am for a windtrainer session in the garage. 45mins in total including 3 x 6mins efforts (the last 40sec of which were standing) with 4min easy recovery. This session felt particularly tough. I almost talked myself out of doing the 3rd rep but persevered. 16.4km
Fri 18th: another Club race, another enticer (250m swim / 10km bike / 2.5km run)
I wasn't in a good head space mentally during this race nor did it really improve afterwards. I won't go into the details. Suffice to say while I know I have been training for other purposes for the last 6 months, I am feeling very frustrated with my training at the moment. And my hip isn't too happy either. No results out yet as at the time of writing
Edit: results are out. Slow swim, slow bike but my run was 38sec faster than my split at the Nepean enticer in November (mind you over a different course). 1st in my AG out of 2
Sat 19th: lots of walking in/around the city thank to getting to/from the (amazing) terracotta warrior exhibition in the NSW Art Gallery. I had planned to go to the gym afterwards but had car trouble :-(
Sun 20th: thankfully I had organised to meet TA for a long ride otherwise I would probably have stayed in bed & gone to the gym later in the day instead.
TA wanted an "undulating" ride and, as domestique, it was my responsibility to deliver. And deliver I did :-D TA came out to Penrith & we rode the Northern Rd to Harrington Park via a loop of Greendale for good measure. Very hot & humid weather conditions this morning. I have rarely, if ever, been more happy to get off the bike than I was today.
Finished up with an enjoyable (and leisurely) breakfast at the Coffee Club where we were joined by R. A great way to start a day. Thanks TA! 70.8km in 3hrs
Another busy week ahead. Hopefully I can start to get some routine into my life & business..
MTD:
Swim: 3.85km
Bike: 124.9km
Mon 7th: no run in the morning as I was training a client :-)
In the evening, I tried to come up with every possible reason not to go to swim squad. But even leaving work at 6.30pm & visiting 2 potential venues of a group PT session I am planning to launch soon still left me with plenty of time to get to squad. Bugger. So I went. And I did it. And I was reasonably happy with how I swam, particularly given that I have only swim twice in the last month. Approx. 2.1km
Wed 9th: 60mins of core-torturing pilates in the morning followed by my 20min walk/shuffle in the evening. Probably not the best of idea; my glutes were probably a bit fatigued. My hip confirmed the next morning that it wasn't :-(
Thu 10th: 1.5km open water swim at the Regatta Centre watching the sky change from pink to blue. Great way to start the day!
Sat 12th: dragged myself out of bed about 7.30am for a ride. I was feeling decidedly unenergetic this morning but eventually got moving. An overcast morning with clouds that hinted of rain actually lifted my spirits; I wasn't looking forward to another hot ride.
As it was, the clouds didn't just hint of rain. About 30sec after getting on bike, it started to rain. Ick. Thankfully it didn't last for too long. 71min ride -including 3 x 6mins efforts with 4min easy recovery. The first two efforts didn't feel too hard. I worked out why when I turned around and headed for home. A headwind made the last effort much more painful & even the 'easy' cool down ride home was a struggle. 27.7km.
Thu 17th: dragged myself out of bed at 5.15am for a windtrainer session in the garage. 45mins in total including 3 x 6mins efforts (the last 40sec of which were standing) with 4min easy recovery. This session felt particularly tough. I almost talked myself out of doing the 3rd rep but persevered. 16.4km
Fri 18th: another Club race, another enticer (250m swim / 10km bike / 2.5km run)
I wasn't in a good head space mentally during this race nor did it really improve afterwards. I won't go into the details. Suffice to say while I know I have been training for other purposes for the last 6 months, I am feeling very frustrated with my training at the moment. And my hip isn't too happy either. No results out yet as at the time of writing
Edit: results are out. Slow swim, slow bike but my run was 38sec faster than my split at the Nepean enticer in November (mind you over a different course). 1st in my AG out of 2
Sat 19th: lots of walking in/around the city thank to getting to/from the (amazing) terracotta warrior exhibition in the NSW Art Gallery. I had planned to go to the gym afterwards but had car trouble :-(
Sun 20th: thankfully I had organised to meet TA for a long ride otherwise I would probably have stayed in bed & gone to the gym later in the day instead.
TA wanted an "undulating" ride and, as domestique, it was my responsibility to deliver. And deliver I did :-D TA came out to Penrith & we rode the Northern Rd to Harrington Park via a loop of Greendale for good measure. Very hot & humid weather conditions this morning. I have rarely, if ever, been more happy to get off the bike than I was today.
Finished up with an enjoyable (and leisurely) breakfast at the Coffee Club where we were joined by R. A great way to start a day. Thanks TA! 70.8km in 3hrs
Another busy week ahead. Hopefully I can start to get some routine into my life & business..
MTD:
Swim: 3.85km
Bike: 124.9km
Sunday, February 06, 2011
Decisions, decisions
A HUGE week in probably every other avenue of my life except for my training. I have done very little training this week due to a combination of other commitments & an intense need to sleep (despite the intense heat western Sydney has been experiencing this week). This week -
- the privatisation I have been working on for the last 22 months finally completed, bringing one job to an end;
- in connection with the privatisation, I started a new job;
- I launched my website, and effectively my business, after a few late nights trying to finalise the website; and
- attended a two day legal conference on Friday & Saturday.
I haven't really kept track of my training this week but I do recall going out for a 25mins walk/shuffle and going to my happy place, ie. the gym, not once but twice :-))
In other news today I withdrew from the Port Macquarie Half Ironman - sorry, 70.3 - race in May. My running is not where it needs to be at this point & I am not prepared to accept the risks associated with doing the race from where I am at this point. I am very comfortable with this decision - it is something I have been thinking about for some time - and I am looking forward to focusing on sprint & Olympic distance races for the next 12 months :-)
- the privatisation I have been working on for the last 22 months finally completed, bringing one job to an end;
- in connection with the privatisation, I started a new job;
- I launched my website, and effectively my business, after a few late nights trying to finalise the website; and
- attended a two day legal conference on Friday & Saturday.
I haven't really kept track of my training this week but I do recall going out for a 25mins walk/shuffle and going to my happy place, ie. the gym, not once but twice :-))
In other news today I withdrew from the Port Macquarie Half Ironman - sorry, 70.3 - race in May. My running is not where it needs to be at this point & I am not prepared to accept the risks associated with doing the race from where I am at this point. I am very comfortable with this decision - it is something I have been thinking about for some time - and I am looking forward to focusing on sprint & Olympic distance races for the next 12 months :-)
Tuesday, February 01, 2011
Now for my next trick...
A recovery week :-)
Mon: a crap nights sleep - the usual post big-effect restless nights sleep - saw me awake far too early for a day off. But it meant I could enjoy a leisurely (and wonderful breakfast) at our favourite cafe in Bright before the long drive home. Once home, I spent 30mins of SMR on the foam roller before doing 14mins of R&R session (consisting of 5mins bike, 5mins easy play with the ViPR & then 4mins of mobilisers). Felt fab afterwards!
Tue - Thur: rest
Fri: I had set my alarm for 5.30am but when R's alarm went off at 4.50pm my brain switched on knowing I had a difficult & stressful day ahead of me at work. So from about 5.10am I was up & out of bed for my windtrainer session in the garage. Did 42mins of one of the endurance DVDs in our ever-increasing Spinervals collection followed by a 5min c/d. I took it reasonably easily as my HR was climbing much quicker than it normally does, indicating that the body still hasn't fully recovered from the weekend's little adventure. 47min. 18.61km
Sat: after a late night working, I dragged myself out of bed at 5am in order to meet TA & Mouse at Hornsby at 6.45am for a long ride. While the girls & I were sitting in our cars contemplating the drizzle, Brick ran past & stopped for a chat
I don't think any of us was feeling particularly enthusiastic. But eventfully we dragged ourselves out of the car, onto our bikes & set out for a ride from Hornsby to the Galston area via Berowa Waters.
I had put my normal cluster - a 25 compared to the (easier) 28 I had on the bike for Alpine Classic - back on my bike. But that can't account for how much of a struggle it felt like. Thankfully the company was great & post-ride breakfast was yummy too :-) 55.96km in about 2:45.
Sun: rest (big sleep-in!)
Mon: rest (unscheduled)
Tue: another 25mins walk/shuffle today, the first in about 10 days. Much to my surprise, it felt no more difficult than the last one. Time to step it up a bit though..
Totals for January:
Swim: 4.25km (yikes!)
Bike: 433.35km
Mon: a crap nights sleep - the usual post big-effect restless nights sleep - saw me awake far too early for a day off. But it meant I could enjoy a leisurely (and wonderful breakfast) at our favourite cafe in Bright before the long drive home. Once home, I spent 30mins of SMR on the foam roller before doing 14mins of R&R session (consisting of 5mins bike, 5mins easy play with the ViPR & then 4mins of mobilisers). Felt fab afterwards!
Tue - Thur: rest
Fri: I had set my alarm for 5.30am but when R's alarm went off at 4.50pm my brain switched on knowing I had a difficult & stressful day ahead of me at work. So from about 5.10am I was up & out of bed for my windtrainer session in the garage. Did 42mins of one of the endurance DVDs in our ever-increasing Spinervals collection followed by a 5min c/d. I took it reasonably easily as my HR was climbing much quicker than it normally does, indicating that the body still hasn't fully recovered from the weekend's little adventure. 47min. 18.61km
Sat: after a late night working, I dragged myself out of bed at 5am in order to meet TA & Mouse at Hornsby at 6.45am for a long ride. While the girls & I were sitting in our cars contemplating the drizzle, Brick ran past & stopped for a chat
I don't think any of us was feeling particularly enthusiastic. But eventfully we dragged ourselves out of the car, onto our bikes & set out for a ride from Hornsby to the Galston area via Berowa Waters.
I had put my normal cluster - a 25 compared to the (easier) 28 I had on the bike for Alpine Classic - back on my bike. But that can't account for how much of a struggle it felt like. Thankfully the company was great & post-ride breakfast was yummy too :-) 55.96km in about 2:45.
Sun: rest (big sleep-in!)
Mon: rest (unscheduled)
Tue: another 25mins walk/shuffle today, the first in about 10 days. Much to my surprise, it felt no more difficult than the last one. Time to step it up a bit though..
Totals for January:
Swim: 4.25km (yikes!)
Bike: 433.35km
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Alpine Classic 2010 - 130km ride
(This is going to be long. You might want to get comfy...)
Some time early in 2010, I set myself the goal to complete the 130km ride at the Alpine Classic, an event held in Bright Victoria in late January.
I spend a lot of time on the bike ahead of Yeppoon in August last year but then the kms in the bank declined in the second half of the year. But the kms that I did ride were hilly. My training culminated with a ride from home up the mountains all the way to Woodford and later a 5hr ride in the Team PIS heartland before heading to the triathlon training camp over the New Years period.
It wasn't until I attended the campin Mt Beauty & Bright that I first got a glimpse of what I was in for. I actually made the decision whilst at camp to swap down to the 70km (which, in its own right, is far from easy given that it climbs Mt Buffalo). But somewhere between leaving camp & last Thursday night, I made the decision to go for it; to stick with the 130km. I have no idea why. The prospect of putting a 28 cluster on my bike - the road bike equivalent of a granny gear - helped. But I think it was just my pigheaded determination to start at the very least. Even on race morning I wasn't convinced that -
(a) I would make the distance knowing the size of the 'hills' involved and/or
(b) do so within cut-off.
But I decided to dig into bag of tricks & pull out every jedi mind trick that 2p taught me in the lead up to 6 Foot Track several years ago. They worked back then; I figured although they may be a bit rusty, surely they would work again ;-)
I have covered Friday & Saturday in my previous post.
Sunday morning rolled around the alarm went off at the decadent hour of 6am. Gotta love an event that starts at 7.20am and you are literally only 2mins ride from the start. I actually woke 10mins before the alarm with a flood of nerves. Went through the usual rituals - fighting with contact lenses, covering square centimetre of bare skin with enough sunscreen to sink the Bismark etc. Was so anxious to get to the start that I almost left my biddons behind.
Rode to the start which took maybe 90sec and queued up. Lots of serious stick insects (read: serious boring & unfriendly cyclists) but also lots of other shapes & sizes, including the bikes! There was one guy waiting adjacent to us on a folding bike!. Not sure whether he was brave or crazy. A bit of both I suspect!
At 7.20am we rolled out & along the main road through Bright heading towards Tawonga Gap, the first big climb of the day. This road is beautiful; lined by massive green leafy trees -
Those who started behind us quickly overtook us but I wasn't too concerned as I knew that would happen. I was drafting off my domestique along the flat sections but he occasionally went MIA. As a peleton would pass us, he would drop me - albeit briefly - and stay with the peleton. He tells me that he got sucked into the vortex created by how fast the peleton was travelling & was pulled along by them outside of his control. I call it testosterone ;-)
Turned off the main road after 15mins. At this point the road stays (reasonably) flat for a couple of kms, before becoming a false flat & finally a freaking big hill. I was travelling reasonably well up the hill. I was being passed but, much to my surprise, some of the people passing me sounded like they were working much harder than I. I also passed a few people including some (all but one were men!) who had pulled up by the side of the road trying to recover. This gave me a boost of confidence because I knew I was in much better condition at the time. I was going slowly but at least I was still going :-)
After 1:17 of riding, we made it to the top of the gap -
I was surprised by this stage; I had assumed (read: guessed) it would take us 1:30 to get to the top. Ahead of schedule already!
Stopped briefly to try to fill up the biddons (there were no taps) so we were quickly onto our bikes for the fun part - the decent. The drop from the top of Tawonga down into Mt Beauty is steeper than the side we had just ridden up, making for a fun & fast decent -
Mt Beauty marked 30kms into the ride & we stopped briefly at the checkpoint to enjoy a delicious fruit bun (yum!), fill the biddons etc & we set off to ride up Falls Creek.
There isn't much to say about the next 30kms of riding other than to say it was, for the most part, uphill. There are a couple of reprieves, in the form of short descents, along the way, but for the most part it just went up, up, up. We were, however, very lucky that there some cloud cover otherwise it would have made for a much more difficult (hot) time. Further up the mountain we got, the more people I seemed to pass. Me thinks a lot of people (read: men) had set out far too fast & were paying for it. But not me ;-)
Arrived at the summit (60km mark) 4hr 14min into the ride & enjoyed most the spoils of the check point - muffins, bananas, watermelon, creamed rice with milo (yummo!), hot chocolate etc. There were lots of people sitting around enjoying their food & cappuccinos seemingly unconcerned by the cutoff. But I wanted to make the cut-off so whilst we took out time to eat, we got out there quickly (R quickly dropped me) & I enjoyed the descent of close to 28kms with a few small uphills sections to make sure the legs were still awake by myself.
R met me back in Mt Beauty & we set out for the last big climb of the day - the climb back up the steep side of Tawonga. While only 8km in length it was a very difficult 8km as it was, by now, midday, very hot & sunny as the early cloud cover in the morning had dissipated. By this stage, I was determined that I was going to finish this damn ride even if I had to walk. As it turns out, I didn't :-)
I let R climb at his own pace as I settled into my usual (very) slow but steady pace. It is the probably the steepest part of the whole day so it was difficult to stay positive. There were other struggling far more than me; I passed several men who had stopped by the side of the road whilst another ahead of me who let out what can only be described as a yell of frustration as he rode around one corner and saw the tight & steep hairpin bend that lay ahead.
There was a water stop about 3kim up the hill which I stopped at. I didn't need any water. I just wanted to stop for a moment. But I was also rewarded with a hose down by the volunteers :-)
On, on, on, up, up, up. There were kms marking signs on the road telling us how far it was to go. The last km was, by far, the longest km in my life. But I was almost surprised when I came around the last corner & could see the cars parked at the lookout ahead :-)
R was waiting for me with a cold bottle of water. I took two sips & poured the rest over my head & down my back. By now, there was 54mins to go until the cut-off & under 20kms to ride, a large portion of which was downhill - easy!
My descending has improved greatly in recent weeks. I am still a bit of a nana but slowly improving. My body temp must have dropped 5 degrees in the space of a minute as I descended after the water I had poured over my head. I enjoyed the descent; my legs felt good to push the flatter sections & my cornering is improving.
I had the road by myself back to the t-intersection where my domestique was waiting for me & then drafted off him the whole way back to town.
And finally, across the finish line in a total ride time (including breaks) of 7hr 23mins.
After crossing the line to the sound of the crowd clapping, R & I had a quick cuddle, grabbed some food - more fruit buns, green cordial (my favourite), we bought a coke & headed straight to the river (which the finish line sat adjacent to).
R in front of the river on the Saturday afternoon
I stripped off my shoes & socks, took off Garmin Elektra, emptied the pockets in the back of the jersey & walked fully clothed into the (cold) river with can of Coke in hand. Absolute sheer bliss.
I had a fantastic time in Bright & we have already agreed to head back next year. I would highly recommend it for anyone who wants a challenge on a bike in a beautiful setting in an area known for good food, wine, hospitality & spectacular views!
The stats:
Est. ride time (excluding breaks) 6hrs 34mins
Av. 18k/h
Fastest speed downhill 58k/h!
Total elevation gain: 2,626m (the equivalent of riding from Penrith to Katoomba 2.5 times!)
Calories burnt: 5000 :-)
Some time early in 2010, I set myself the goal to complete the 130km ride at the Alpine Classic, an event held in Bright Victoria in late January.
I spend a lot of time on the bike ahead of Yeppoon in August last year but then the kms in the bank declined in the second half of the year. But the kms that I did ride were hilly. My training culminated with a ride from home up the mountains all the way to Woodford and later a 5hr ride in the Team PIS heartland before heading to the triathlon training camp over the New Years period.
It wasn't until I attended the camp
(a) I would make the distance knowing the size of the 'hills' involved and/or
(b) do so within cut-off.
But I decided to dig into bag of tricks & pull out every jedi mind trick that 2p taught me in the lead up to 6 Foot Track several years ago. They worked back then; I figured although they may be a bit rusty, surely they would work again ;-)
I have covered Friday & Saturday in my previous post.
Sunday morning rolled around the alarm went off at the decadent hour of 6am. Gotta love an event that starts at 7.20am and you are literally only 2mins ride from the start. I actually woke 10mins before the alarm with a flood of nerves. Went through the usual rituals - fighting with contact lenses, covering square centimetre of bare skin with enough sunscreen to sink the Bismark etc. Was so anxious to get to the start that I almost left my biddons behind.
Rode to the start which took maybe 90sec and queued up. Lots of serious stick insects (read: serious boring & unfriendly cyclists) but also lots of other shapes & sizes, including the bikes! There was one guy waiting adjacent to us on a folding bike!. Not sure whether he was brave or crazy. A bit of both I suspect!
At 7.20am we rolled out & along the main road through Bright heading towards Tawonga Gap, the first big climb of the day. This road is beautiful; lined by massive green leafy trees -
Those who started behind us quickly overtook us but I wasn't too concerned as I knew that would happen. I was drafting off my domestique along the flat sections but he occasionally went MIA. As a peleton would pass us, he would drop me - albeit briefly - and stay with the peleton. He tells me that he got sucked into the vortex created by how fast the peleton was travelling & was pulled along by them outside of his control. I call it testosterone ;-)
Turned off the main road after 15mins. At this point the road stays (reasonably) flat for a couple of kms, before becoming a false flat & finally a freaking big hill. I was travelling reasonably well up the hill. I was being passed but, much to my surprise, some of the people passing me sounded like they were working much harder than I. I also passed a few people including some (all but one were men!) who had pulled up by the side of the road trying to recover. This gave me a boost of confidence because I knew I was in much better condition at the time. I was going slowly but at least I was still going :-)
After 1:17 of riding, we made it to the top of the gap -
I was surprised by this stage; I had assumed (read: guessed) it would take us 1:30 to get to the top. Ahead of schedule already!Stopped briefly to try to fill up the biddons (there were no taps) so we were quickly onto our bikes for the fun part - the decent. The drop from the top of Tawonga down into Mt Beauty is steeper than the side we had just ridden up, making for a fun & fast decent -
Mt Beauty marked 30kms into the ride & we stopped briefly at the checkpoint to enjoy a delicious fruit bun (yum!), fill the biddons etc & we set off to ride up Falls Creek.
There isn't much to say about the next 30kms of riding other than to say it was, for the most part, uphill. There are a couple of reprieves, in the form of short descents, along the way, but for the most part it just went up, up, up. We were, however, very lucky that there some cloud cover otherwise it would have made for a much more difficult (hot) time. Further up the mountain we got, the more people I seemed to pass. Me thinks a lot of people (read: men) had set out far too fast & were paying for it. But not me ;-)
Arrived at the summit (60km mark) 4hr 14min into the ride & enjoyed most the spoils of the check point - muffins, bananas, watermelon, creamed rice with milo (yummo!), hot chocolate etc. There were lots of people sitting around enjoying their food & cappuccinos seemingly unconcerned by the cutoff. But I wanted to make the cut-off so whilst we took out time to eat, we got out there quickly (R quickly dropped me) & I enjoyed the descent of close to 28kms with a few small uphills sections to make sure the legs were still awake by myself.
R met me back in Mt Beauty & we set out for the last big climb of the day - the climb back up the steep side of Tawonga. While only 8km in length it was a very difficult 8km as it was, by now, midday, very hot & sunny as the early cloud cover in the morning had dissipated. By this stage, I was determined that I was going to finish this damn ride even if I had to walk. As it turns out, I didn't :-)
I let R climb at his own pace as I settled into my usual (very) slow but steady pace. It is the probably the steepest part of the whole day so it was difficult to stay positive. There were other struggling far more than me; I passed several men who had stopped by the side of the road whilst another ahead of me who let out what can only be described as a yell of frustration as he rode around one corner and saw the tight & steep hairpin bend that lay ahead.
There was a water stop about 3kim up the hill which I stopped at. I didn't need any water. I just wanted to stop for a moment. But I was also rewarded with a hose down by the volunteers :-)
On, on, on, up, up, up. There were kms marking signs on the road telling us how far it was to go. The last km was, by far, the longest km in my life. But I was almost surprised when I came around the last corner & could see the cars parked at the lookout ahead :-)
R was waiting for me with a cold bottle of water. I took two sips & poured the rest over my head & down my back. By now, there was 54mins to go until the cut-off & under 20kms to ride, a large portion of which was downhill - easy!
My descending has improved greatly in recent weeks. I am still a bit of a nana but slowly improving. My body temp must have dropped 5 degrees in the space of a minute as I descended after the water I had poured over my head. I enjoyed the descent; my legs felt good to push the flatter sections & my cornering is improving.
I had the road by myself back to the t-intersection where my domestique was waiting for me & then drafted off him the whole way back to town.
And finally, across the finish line in a total ride time (including breaks) of 7hr 23mins.
After crossing the line to the sound of the crowd clapping, R & I had a quick cuddle, grabbed some food - more fruit buns, green cordial (my favourite), we bought a coke & headed straight to the river (which the finish line sat adjacent to).
R in front of the river on the Saturday afternoon
I stripped off my shoes & socks, took off Garmin Elektra, emptied the pockets in the back of the jersey & walked fully clothed into the (cold) river with can of Coke in hand. Absolute sheer bliss.
I had a fantastic time in Bright & we have already agreed to head back next year. I would highly recommend it for anyone who wants a challenge on a bike in a beautiful setting in an area known for good food, wine, hospitality & spectacular views!
The stats:
Est. ride time (excluding breaks) 6hrs 34mins
Av. 18k/h
Fastest speed downhill 58k/h!
Total elevation gain: 2,626m (the equivalent of riding from Penrith to Katoomba 2.5 times!)
Calories burnt: 5000 :-)
Monday, January 24, 2011
T'was the night before the Alpine..
Bernie, I have some good articles on the use of vibration training if you are interested.
Mon: no run this morning due to other plans. But I made it to swim squad for the first time in about a month and, much to my surprise, it didn't hurt quite as much as I had anticipated given my lack of swimming training. 2.75k plus some underwater training which put us all into a hypoxic state, making it far too hard to do & count laps at the same time
Tue: another 20mins walk/shuffle which proved that last Saturday's run wasn't a fluke. Still hard, hard work - HR is still too far high - but showing signs of progress.
Wed: first pilates session of the year with the new pilates/physio ("Geoff") who has replaced Carly. A tough session despite the work I have done over the Xmas / New Years period.
After work I headed up the mountains to watch one of the Dirty Tri races being held at Lawson. M & S have done a great job; it is a relaxed fun setting & a well organised event. I am hoping to 'borrow' R's mountain bike one day & get up there to do the race for myself.
Thu: back to my happy place - the gym - for an easy strength session as I didn't want to trash myself ahead of this weekend. I've said it before, I will say it again; I lurve training in the gym. Might have to do a bit more than 1 session a week over the coming months...
Fri: headed out just after 7am for another (good) 25mins walk/shuffle. I've had a couple of great, albeit short, runs this week. However I am noticing that some of the biomechanical 'issues' I have previously experienced still exist unfortunately. I am stronger in many ways but still have some issues to resolve.
By 9am, the car was packed & it was off on the 8 hour road trip to beautiful Bright, Victoria with R. Such a beautiful part of the world. Our lovely hotel is right on the river which is basically the local swimming pool. A weir has been built so it has created, in effect a (partial) dam which is patrolled in summer by lifeguards. Throw in a couple of water slides & it is a very popular place in summer - not to mention only about 3mins walk from the front door of our apartment! We also need to walk past it to get from the finish line of the ride on Sunday back to our apartment so I suspect a full clothed 'dunking' may be in order... ;-)
Sat: I headed out for an easy 30mins bike ride (including 3 x 30sec efforts to test out the legs) out & back from Bright to roll the legs over as I hadn't been on the bike since last Sunday. Bright is beginning to feel like home after spending some time in the area a few weeks ago. 12.09km
The rest of the day was rather lazy. After morning tea at one of the (great) local cafes, we headed over to race HQ to register & check out the expo. It was far too hot to spend very long outside so we quickly headed for the car & went on a road trip to Mt Hotham to show R the 'hill' I climbed on the bike at tri club a few weeks ago. It was nice to have a chance to enjoy the view from the comfort of the passenger seat of the car. On the way back to town, we had lunch at another great cafe in beautiful Harriotville before heading back to Bright to hide from the heat in the comfort of our air-conditioned apartment for the rest of the afternoon before enjoying dinner at a picnic table overlooking the river.
Now I am finalising this post on Monday night - so the Alpine Classic was, of course, yesterday - but I think the Alpine Classic ride deserves its own complete post. So stay tuned!
MTD:
Swim: 4.25km
Bike: 235.18km
Mon: no run this morning due to other plans. But I made it to swim squad for the first time in about a month and, much to my surprise, it didn't hurt quite as much as I had anticipated given my lack of swimming training. 2.75k plus some underwater training which put us all into a hypoxic state, making it far too hard to do & count laps at the same time
Tue: another 20mins walk/shuffle which proved that last Saturday's run wasn't a fluke. Still hard, hard work - HR is still too far high - but showing signs of progress.
Wed: first pilates session of the year with the new pilates/physio ("Geoff") who has replaced Carly. A tough session despite the work I have done over the Xmas / New Years period.
After work I headed up the mountains to watch one of the Dirty Tri races being held at Lawson. M & S have done a great job; it is a relaxed fun setting & a well organised event. I am hoping to 'borrow' R's mountain bike one day & get up there to do the race for myself.
Thu: back to my happy place - the gym - for an easy strength session as I didn't want to trash myself ahead of this weekend. I've said it before, I will say it again; I lurve training in the gym. Might have to do a bit more than 1 session a week over the coming months...
Fri: headed out just after 7am for another (good) 25mins walk/shuffle. I've had a couple of great, albeit short, runs this week. However I am noticing that some of the biomechanical 'issues' I have previously experienced still exist unfortunately. I am stronger in many ways but still have some issues to resolve.
By 9am, the car was packed & it was off on the 8 hour road trip to beautiful Bright, Victoria with R. Such a beautiful part of the world. Our lovely hotel is right on the river which is basically the local swimming pool. A weir has been built so it has created, in effect a (partial) dam which is patrolled in summer by lifeguards. Throw in a couple of water slides & it is a very popular place in summer - not to mention only about 3mins walk from the front door of our apartment! We also need to walk past it to get from the finish line of the ride on Sunday back to our apartment so I suspect a full clothed 'dunking' may be in order... ;-)
Sat: I headed out for an easy 30mins bike ride (including 3 x 30sec efforts to test out the legs) out & back from Bright to roll the legs over as I hadn't been on the bike since last Sunday. Bright is beginning to feel like home after spending some time in the area a few weeks ago. 12.09km
The rest of the day was rather lazy. After morning tea at one of the (great) local cafes, we headed over to race HQ to register & check out the expo. It was far too hot to spend very long outside so we quickly headed for the car & went on a road trip to Mt Hotham to show R the 'hill' I climbed on the bike at tri club a few weeks ago. It was nice to have a chance to enjoy the view from the comfort of the passenger seat of the car. On the way back to town, we had lunch at another great cafe in beautiful Harriotville before heading back to Bright to hide from the heat in the comfort of our air-conditioned apartment for the rest of the afternoon before enjoying dinner at a picnic table overlooking the river.
Now I am finalising this post on Monday night - so the Alpine Classic was, of course, yesterday - but I think the Alpine Classic ride deserves its own complete post. So stay tuned!
MTD:
Swim: 4.25km
Bike: 235.18km
Sunday, January 16, 2011
1.... (*she says taking a deep breathe*)
Ewen, I should be in more of a panic than Ruth - I am running a grand total of 1km (just) at the moment :-O
Thanks also to the gorgeous Barb who this week christened me a "stylish blogger". I'm not quite sure whether I am stylish or my blog is. My blog hasn't had a change in colour since it was created almost 5 years ago & the photo in the header is about 4 years old. So she must have been referring to the great cycling jersey I was rocking today ;-) To be honest, I don't think it is but hey, I'll take it either way ;-)
Mon: 25min walk/shuffle for the first time in over a week. Yes, I too find it hard to believe that I am supposed to be doing a Half Ironman race in 16 weeks :-$ No swim squad tonight due to a farewell baked dinner for my brother who is returning to Canada on Tuesday (*sob*)
Tue: rest + (much needed) massage
Wed: 45mins strength session at the gym this morning. I am, at heart, a gym junkie. I could live with never doing a day of 'cardio' again in my life. But I could never go without being in a gym :-) Session was primarily glute & core related.
On arrival I was very excited to discover both a TRX & a Freemotion vibration platform. Mention vibration in the context of a gym and most people probably think back to the terrible adds on tv from the 80s showing women in leotards with rubber belts around the waist having their excess weight miraculously 'wobbled' away. But it is a growing area of the industry and several studies have shown remarkable results. There have been several studies which have shown an improvement in Vo2 max after doing strength exercises on a vibration platform. Yes, that's right - strength exercises leading to a Vo2 improvement! I've heard about them a lot; PTA Global (who I have done my advanced PT study through) are big fans so I was very excited to try it.
I had been warned that they can shred you with surprising ease so I tested out squats on them for 30sec only on 30 Hzt. Wow - I think I could feel my brain bouncing around in my skull. But judging by the way my legs were feeling afterwards, it's effective ;-) Wish I could afford to get one to use at home and on my clients :-(( Can. Not. Wait. to get back in the gym to play with it again!
Thu: up early again for a 54min session on the windtrainer in the garage. Very flat legs. I had absolutely nothing. Let's hope I find where I left my legs before next weekend... :-O 20.4km. 54mins.
Fri: a truly crap nights sleep. I have set myself a tight time frame for a BHAG of mine and it is drawing near. So I got into bed and my brain seemed to take off. It was almost midnight before I drifted off. But not before I changed the time the alarm had been set. I had planned to run before going swimming but I skipped the run. As it was, I really struggled to get out of bed to get down to the Regatta Centre at 6am for an open water swim. But (thankfully) R had run down there and given:
(a) I had his swimming gear and
(b) he would have had to run home if I stayed in bed,
so I figured I should maintain domestic tranquility by not abandoning him ;-)
But I am sooo glad I did. Swam 1.5km very comfortable and surprisingly in a relatively straight line! Every morning swim I have done down at the Regatta Centre this summer has been in overcast conditions. But this morning, the effort involved in getting out of bed was rewarded with a beautiful sunrise through high cloud. I love swimming towards the sun watching the sunrise reflect off the water & the sky change colour seemingly every time I lifted my head to sight. Ah bliss !
Sat: I had planned to do my long ride but woke at 7am tired & to wet roads which was more than enough to send me to the safe confines of the garage for my bike session. But first another 25mins walk/shuffle. It was finally one of those runs that gives me hope. More running, less walking than previous walk/shuffles. Finally a sign of progress - yippee!
After facial & lots of hours of work, I finally dragged my butt away from my desk to a windtrainer session in the garage. It was probably the closest I have ever been to vomiting during/after a session, whether from the effort, drinking 3/4 of a biddon within the first 30mins of the session or the heat & humidity. Ick. So so hot. 19.5km 46:40
Sun: I wanted to spend much of the day working on my BHAG so decided to join the PTC girls for a ride at 6am to make sure that I got my long ride done early. The girls were riding long so R & I went with them for the first 50-odd minutes up the M4 & then along the Northern Road before we turned around & headed back to the car via Chain O' Ponds.
Let's just say it felt much harder than 2 hours on the bike should feel right now. Whether it is due to:
- very little recovery after last nights session,
- the fact that while I can ride uphill (slowly) for 3 hours, I have zero speed in my legs at the moment or
- I haven't fully recovered from tri camp,
I don't know. Trying not to read too much into it. But you know me... ;-) Finished with banana bread & coffee with R at the Coffee Club before driving home. 53.9km. 2:05. 25.8k/h
So one week to go until the Alpine Classic. After tri camp, I had contemplated swapping down to the 70km ride (which, incidentally is much harder than it sounds given it goes up Mt Buffalo) and riding Falls Creek as a 'warm-up' on the Saturday...
I have ordered the equivalent of a granny gear for my bike in the hope that it can get me over Tawonga Gap twice. I doubt that I will make the cut-off if I stick with the 130km ride but that doesn't bother me as I will still have a huge training ride in my legs - and one I wasn't sure that I was capable of 6+months ago.
Decisions, decisions...
MTD:
Swim: 1.5km!
Bike: 223.09km
Thanks also to the gorgeous Barb who this week christened me a "stylish blogger". I'm not quite sure whether I am stylish or my blog is. My blog hasn't had a change in colour since it was created almost 5 years ago & the photo in the header is about 4 years old. So she must have been referring to the great cycling jersey I was rocking today ;-) To be honest, I don't think it is but hey, I'll take it either way ;-)
Mon: 25min walk/shuffle for the first time in over a week. Yes, I too find it hard to believe that I am supposed to be doing a Half Ironman race in 16 weeks :-$ No swim squad tonight due to a farewell baked dinner for my brother who is returning to Canada on Tuesday (*sob*)
Tue: rest + (much needed) massage
Wed: 45mins strength session at the gym this morning. I am, at heart, a gym junkie. I could live with never doing a day of 'cardio' again in my life. But I could never go without being in a gym :-) Session was primarily glute & core related.
On arrival I was very excited to discover both a TRX & a Freemotion vibration platform. Mention vibration in the context of a gym and most people probably think back to the terrible adds on tv from the 80s showing women in leotards with rubber belts around the waist having their excess weight miraculously 'wobbled' away. But it is a growing area of the industry and several studies have shown remarkable results. There have been several studies which have shown an improvement in Vo2 max after doing strength exercises on a vibration platform. Yes, that's right - strength exercises leading to a Vo2 improvement! I've heard about them a lot; PTA Global (who I have done my advanced PT study through) are big fans so I was very excited to try it.
I had been warned that they can shred you with surprising ease so I tested out squats on them for 30sec only on 30 Hzt. Wow - I think I could feel my brain bouncing around in my skull. But judging by the way my legs were feeling afterwards, it's effective ;-) Wish I could afford to get one to use at home and on my clients :-(( Can. Not. Wait. to get back in the gym to play with it again!
Thu: up early again for a 54min session on the windtrainer in the garage. Very flat legs. I had absolutely nothing. Let's hope I find where I left my legs before next weekend... :-O 20.4km. 54mins.
Fri: a truly crap nights sleep. I have set myself a tight time frame for a BHAG of mine and it is drawing near. So I got into bed and my brain seemed to take off. It was almost midnight before I drifted off. But not before I changed the time the alarm had been set. I had planned to run before going swimming but I skipped the run. As it was, I really struggled to get out of bed to get down to the Regatta Centre at 6am for an open water swim. But (thankfully) R had run down there and given:
(a) I had his swimming gear and
(b) he would have had to run home if I stayed in bed,
so I figured I should maintain domestic tranquility by not abandoning him ;-)
But I am sooo glad I did. Swam 1.5km very comfortable and surprisingly in a relatively straight line! Every morning swim I have done down at the Regatta Centre this summer has been in overcast conditions. But this morning, the effort involved in getting out of bed was rewarded with a beautiful sunrise through high cloud. I love swimming towards the sun watching the sunrise reflect off the water & the sky change colour seemingly every time I lifted my head to sight. Ah bliss !
Sat: I had planned to do my long ride but woke at 7am tired & to wet roads which was more than enough to send me to the safe confines of the garage for my bike session. But first another 25mins walk/shuffle. It was finally one of those runs that gives me hope. More running, less walking than previous walk/shuffles. Finally a sign of progress - yippee!
After facial & lots of hours of work, I finally dragged my butt away from my desk to a windtrainer session in the garage. It was probably the closest I have ever been to vomiting during/after a session, whether from the effort, drinking 3/4 of a biddon within the first 30mins of the session or the heat & humidity. Ick. So so hot. 19.5km 46:40
Sun: I wanted to spend much of the day working on my BHAG so decided to join the PTC girls for a ride at 6am to make sure that I got my long ride done early. The girls were riding long so R & I went with them for the first 50-odd minutes up the M4 & then along the Northern Road before we turned around & headed back to the car via Chain O' Ponds.
Let's just say it felt much harder than 2 hours on the bike should feel right now. Whether it is due to:
- very little recovery after last nights session,
- the fact that while I can ride uphill (slowly) for 3 hours, I have zero speed in my legs at the moment or
- I haven't fully recovered from tri camp,
I don't know. Trying not to read too much into it. But you know me... ;-) Finished with banana bread & coffee with R at the Coffee Club before driving home. 53.9km. 2:05. 25.8k/h
So one week to go until the Alpine Classic. After tri camp, I had contemplated swapping down to the 70km ride (which, incidentally is much harder than it sounds given it goes up Mt Buffalo) and riding Falls Creek as a 'warm-up' on the Saturday...
I have ordered the equivalent of a granny gear for my bike in the hope that it can get me over Tawonga Gap twice. I doubt that I will make the cut-off if I stick with the 130km ride but that doesn't bother me as I will still have a huge training ride in my legs - and one I wasn't sure that I was capable of 6+months ago.
Decisions, decisions...
MTD:
Swim: 1.5km!
Bike: 223.09km
Sunday, January 09, 2011
2... (Game on!)
Well after last week's blog post which resembled War & Peace, this one will be (very) short.
It has been a big week of rest (and even more excess) after tri camp last week. Caught up on lots of sleep and family time whilst hanging out with my family at Port Stephens for a couple of days. I have felt (very) flat all week. I'm not fighting off a cold but I haven't felt 100% either..
So in absolute contrast to last week, this week I have only done a couple of short (10-15min) recovery & regen sessions and on Wednesday a coffee ride from our apartment at Soldiers Point around the coastal (ie, scenic) road to Nelson Bay before returning via the main road & finishing with a leisurely detour via the cafe. Lovely morning for the ride. Legs felt good on the flat but had little, if anything, going uphill. 30.1km. 83mins.
I was due to race today (Sunday) at the Panther's club race. But given the Alpine Classic is only 2 weeks away, getting rid of my sore throat and going into the next 2 weeks fully recovered is the main priority.
Of course it is also 16 weeks today until the Port Mac Half Ironman - sorry 70.3 - but I'm trying not to think about that right now....
MTD:
Bike: 129.29km
It has been a big week of rest (and even more excess) after tri camp last week. Caught up on lots of sleep and family time whilst hanging out with my family at Port Stephens for a couple of days. I have felt (very) flat all week. I'm not fighting off a cold but I haven't felt 100% either..
So in absolute contrast to last week, this week I have only done a couple of short (10-15min) recovery & regen sessions and on Wednesday a coffee ride from our apartment at Soldiers Point around the coastal (ie, scenic) road to Nelson Bay before returning via the main road & finishing with a leisurely detour via the cafe. Lovely morning for the ride. Legs felt good on the flat but had little, if anything, going uphill. 30.1km. 83mins.
I was due to race today (Sunday) at the Panther's club race. But given the Alpine Classic is only 2 weeks away, getting rid of my sore throat and going into the next 2 weeks fully recovered is the main priority.
Of course it is also 16 weeks today until the Port Mac Half Ironman - sorry 70.3 - but I'm trying not to think about that right now....
MTD:
Bike: 129.29km
Monday, January 03, 2011
3.. (aka impersonating a mountain goat)
Executive summary
This is going to be HUGE blog post. So to avoid boring you all, here is the executive summary-
- 7 days at a triathlon camp in Bright, Victoria with TA
- 4 rides, 3 swims + 1 run
- 3 mountains (Falls Creek, Buffalo & Hotham), 286km on the bike and over 4,880m elevation gain - my biggest week on the bike ever (I'm adopting the 85% rule rather than the 10% rule)
The extended version
I should have posted this on a daily basis but I didn't. So if anyone is tempted to even scan read what follows, make sure you have a comfy chair & your hydration and nutrition organised...
Now as I mentioned in my last post, I spent last week in (the appropriately named) Mt Beauty, Victoria at a triathlon camp being run by TA's coach. It has been lots of hard work but lots of fun as well. Now I have written each of these entries on the day & haven't changed them since so that I have an accurate account of camp. Hold on tight - it was a long, and bumpy, ride...
Mon: spent Boxing Day with the Mango clan in Canberra eating and drinking far too much. R & I left home about 8am on Monday morning in order to meet TA at Yass at 9am for the drive down to Mt Beauty, Victoria for camp. The drive from Wodonga into Mt Beauty was very daunting as the 'hills' around Falls Creek & Mt Bogong grew bigger & bigger the closer we got to Mt B. The prospect of having to ride up some of those hills this week left me with a knot in my stomach; TA & I joked about looking at the cows rather than looking at the size of the 'hills' in an effort to distract ourselves.
We arrived in Mt Beauty, our home away from home, just after 2pm and, after a very crazed period of unpacking the car, getting changed & pumping up tyres, we were on our bikes by 2.55pm and riding to the Mt B pool to meet everyone else for our first ride of camp; an 'easy' ride on a relatively 'flat route' to wake the legs up after the long ride. I think Dan, the coach, would be the first to admit that the ride wasn't as flat as he recalled. Throw in a nasty headwind on the return journey and it provided to be challenging. At times on the outward journey, I looked down & saw 34k/h on the speedo which should have been the first indication that things weren't quite right.
Once we turned around after 40mins, the reason for our speed on the outbound journey became evident - a nasty cross headwind slowed our progress so much so that the return journey took us 60mins! Stats: 1:56. 42.21km. Av. 21.7k/h.
Feeling very daunted and quite frankly, out of my depth at the moment. Looking at the mountains rise high above Mt Beauty & looking at the course profiles for the potential rides over the coming days, I have the feeling that perhaps I have bitten off more than I can chew for the Alpine Classic ride next month. But trying very hard to stay positive & not to psych myself out mentally...
Tue: Feeling calmer this morning & more confident mentally.
After a sleep-in, it was off to the local pool here in Mt Beauty for a swim session. After a warm up, we were first videoed swimming both from above & underwater which will be analysed during the course of the week by the coaches. Then I did a stroke correction session whilst TA did a swim fitness set. Approx. 2km in total
After lunch (steak sandwiches) it was back to our lodge for a couple of hours of R&R before a run at 4pm. The rest of the group had an organised run technique session followed by laps of the lake here in Mt B. However I decided not to join in in case I upset my hip. So I did a 30mins walk/shuffle from our apartment. So. Very. Hot. Our apartment is lovely and cool so I don't think any of us realised just how hot it was outside. 30mins was more than enough for me; I felt sorry for the others who were out in the hot sun for 90mins.
A chat during dinner left me feeling reasonably comfortable with our ride up Falls Creek tomorrow. It sounds fairly similar, albeit m-u-c-h longer, to the climb up from Berowa Waters. Mind you, the climb up Berowa is 4km long. Tomorrow the ride is 30km :-O At least I will be fully carb loaded after not one but two servings of bread & butter pudding at dinner :-O
Weird atmosphere in the house tonight. It feels like tomorrow is race day. Everyone, myself included, is running around organising their gear as though tomorrow is the more important race of the season. I guess everyone is a bit nervous about the first big ride of camp.
Wed: bad bad bad nights sleep. Tossed & turned so many times, wanting always to check the time but being unable to do so (I am sleeping on the top bunk for the first time in possibly decades!) By 5am I was out of bed & getting ready to leave by 6am for our ride up Falls Creek. A cool morning with a beautiful clear sky but thankfully not too cold. By 6am, we rolled out of our apartment & rode down to the Mt B pool to meet the rest of the group who are staying at another lodge on the other side of town. The climb started almost immediately. TA & I started, and stayed, at the back the whole way keeping our usual steady pace.
We knew it was 30kms from Mt B to Falls Creek so I kept looking for the kilometre markers. The first 5kms were uphill. From about the 7km to the 12kms mark, there were some downhills which were difficult to deal with mentally. It was not just the idea of losing all the altitude we had worked hard to ride up. But the idea of having to climb back up those hills on the return journey on tired legs was hard to think about. The rest of the climb was up, up, up with a few short downhill or flat sections to give our legs, and minds, a break.
There isn't much to say about this ride other than TA & I stayed together & kept climbing, climbing, climbing. The higher we got, the slower we got and the colder it got.
TA decided to stop once we reached the gates to Falls Creek as she was suffering from back pain while I pushed on for the last 3-4 kms to the chalets. A wise decision for her to make; the last 3-4kms were probably the toughest. I was often out of my seat which rarely happens. The gradient increased slightly & despite the cool conditions, I was working so hard I had to roll down my arm warmers for the final push. Arrived 2:32 after leaving Mt B - yes, we basically rode uphill for 2 & 1/2 hours!
Cold weather at the top meant my stop was only brief. Checking the weather observations now, it appears that the temp was only 8.7 degrees. Not the best place to stop for a rest. So I quickly put on several layers of clothing for the (cold) descent & had a vegemite sandwich - the BEST mid-ride food on the planet - and then set off back down the hill. When I first started downhill, my bike felt like it was slipping on the road. I first thought that maybe it was the road surface or perhaps something was on my wheel. But I soon realised that it was probably the wind. It turns out the wind speed was about 35k/h and gusts of up to 46k/h at the time I was at Falls Creek. Thankfully I dropped down into a much more protected area out of the wind quickly. But by this stage, I had already got cold; too cold. My fingers were numb; at one stage I actually couldn't feel my brakes nor my gear levers. Stopped at the gates where I had left TA & we set off down the mountains again. She quickly dropped me; that woman goes downhill like she is (to use a line from Pretty Woman) "on rails".
The weather warmed up quickly as I dropped in altitude so I stopped to peel off a few layers, finally arriving back in town 1hr 5mins after leaving the top. Felt tired but pleased with my effort. Stats: 4:01. 65.22km. Av. 16.2k/h. AvHR 139
A quick stretch & shower & it was off to the other lodge for lunch (homemade hamburgers) before returning to our lodge for a few hours of R&R.
No rest for the wicked as they say so at 4.30pm we headed off to the oval for a core & stretch session; the stretching was particularly needed by my poor tired legs :-(
Thu: slept like the proverbial log last night; perhaps my best sleep in weeks!
Up early again. Feeling more confident but somewhat flat this morning. I had a lot emotionally invested in climbing Falls Creek as it is part of the course for the Alpine Classic ride. I *had* to get to the summit of Falls Creek yesterday; I figured that if I couldn't summit it during this camp I would have no chance of summiting during the Alpine Classic. But today's climb, I am taking the view that it doesn't really matter whether I make it or not. I don't really have anything invested in this one so I can't say that I am feeling particularly enthusiastic about it.
This time we left Mt B at 6am for the drive across Tawonga Gap to Bright for our next ride; to the summit of Mt Buffalo. It was about 6.40am by the time we left the cars for the 35mins reasonably flat ride to the base of Buffalo. From there, it was up, up, up. Unlike Falls Creek which has a few brief flats or short downhill sections to break up the climbing, Buffalo doesn't. It just literally goes up. Looking at the elevation profile (see below), the first brief downhill section came after 2 hours of non-stop climbing.
I rode with TA for about the first 1.5hrs before she stopped due to back pain & I continued on for the rest of the ride on my own. I ended up passing 2 people, and catching another 2 at the top, all of whom were stronger on Falls Creek than I was which was quietly pleasing. I felt stronger as the ride went on though I don't know to what extent it was a physical thing or it was the mental boost that came from catching & passing people. Either way, this ride left me feeling confident about my climbing; I have a lot of work to do to pick up the pace but I know I can at least get up the hills (albeit slowly). I certainly felt great by the time I reached the summit after 3:05 of climbing. Brief stop at the summit to fill water bottles, have a chat to the others & put on a few layers of clothes & it was time to set off for the descent. Unlike Falls Creek it was warm and windy at the top of Buffalo. While I descend like a nana - ie, slowly - I am getting a lot of practice this week.
Despite the difficulty of this ride - and it was much tougher than Falls Creek - it turned out (much to my surprise) to be a great, and very beautiful, ride. It started off in the typical bushland setting, then quickly became beautiful lush green rainforest, before changing back to bushland before the classic high alpine vegetation of low grass, large rocks piled up in inexplicable ways, large blue lakes & trees twisted and deformed by the wind. Did I mention I really enjoyed this ride? Stats: 4:40. 80.35km. Av 17.2k/h. AvHR 138
The view from one of the lookouts that I stopped at briefly on the way back down the hill -
After lunch (sausage & steak sandwiches) and a bit of R&R, it was into the car for the hour drive to Lake Buffalo for an open water swim. While most donned their wetsuits, the water was (surprisingly) beautifully warm so I went without. Swam about 1km purely to try out some of the things Dan had mentioned in our previous swim session as well as flush the cr*p out of my legs after the climb up Buffalo in the morning.
Fri: finally a much deserved sleep-in! We didn't need to be at the pool for our swim session until 8.50am - yippee! Another stroke correction session for me. Plenty of water up my nose to demonstrate that I have plenty to work on. Only about 1.5km in total.
Enjoyed a relaxing afternoon off, resting, catching up on the news, eating, stretching & psyching myself up for tomorrow's big ride up Mt Hotham. At dinner lots of the experienced, and strongest, riders were talking about how tough Hotham was which left me nervous & wanting to escape in an attempt to keep myself in a good head space.
Sat: another bad bad bad nights sleep feeling very nervous about the ride up Mt Hotham. Awake before the alarm at 4.45am to get ready to the drive to Bright. Left the cars at about 6.30am for the 20km ride to Harriotville which is a gorgeous town at the base of Hotham. The road is basically a false flat for 20km so the ride felt much harder than it appeared. On arrival at Harriotville, we stopped for a toilet break and refilled the water bottles in anticipation of a very hot and hard ride up the mountain.
Within the first 3mins of leaving Harriotville, the road kicked up steeply and continued that way for basically 10kms. This section included a hairpin bend with its own name - "The Meg". You know a corner is bad when it has it's own name! You basically come around a tight left hand hairpin with a sharp rise and then the road continues to climb relatively steeply for about another 100-200m. Everyone had talked about how bad it was. But thankfully once we got to the corner, Dan was standing on the opposite side of the road & told us that there was no oncoming traffic so that we could use the whole road to get around the corner - thankfully. I'm not sure I would have made it up the hairpin itself had I needed to take the inside line due to traffic.
After about 10kms of solid climbing, the road started to plateau out. Still climbing but more a false flat as the road followed the side of the mountain with gorgeous views out towards a mountain I know now to be Hotham (so glad I didn't realise that at the time).
Speaking to people the night before, they had said the two most difficult parts of the climb were "The Meg" but also the 8km from the Rangers Hut to the summit. Some of the strongest women in the group who had previously attended the camp had never made it beyond the Rangers Hut to the village of Hotham. For that reason, the night before I had set myself the goal of riding to the Rangers Hut and saving the push to the summit until camp next year. But I arrived at the Rangers Hut feeling pretty good and with two other girls who were pushing onto the summit so I decided to go with them... :-O
Not sure what I am say about the next 8kms other than they were the most physically demanding thing I have ever done. Much harder than any climbing or mountaineering I have previously done because when you get tired doing those things you can stop, take time to recover before moving again. Much harder to do when riding a bike up a steep slope when stopping is likely to involve toppling over sideways & losing skin off your knee.
The last 8kms were basically (steep) rolling hills - see the elevation graph below - along the side of, or in some cases along the ridge line, on Mt Hotham with very strong crosswinds which were . Somewhere along here TA, who had previously turned around due to illness, drove past me in the car. It was a wonderful surprise and a nice boost to have her there. But I felt rude; I didn't acknowledge her or her encouragement enough because I was working so hard. I just had to keep my head down, focus on turning the pedals over & not look up. During this section, I also set a new record for me - slowest recorded pace whilst going uphill. I looked down at one point & saw 5.4k/h. It would have been faster to walk - which I often contemplated doing.
Finally, we got to the top & got to enjoy the roll down into Mt Hotham while trying to get the o2 back into my body arriving to find most of the group standing around cheering us in as we arrived. TA was also waiting for me and my sweaty hug (sorry TA!). We all decided to head to the cafe for a celebratory coffee. The crosswinds (around 50k/h with gusts around 70k/h!) and some gravel on the road in key downhill spots made most of us uncomfortable with the idea of riding down from the summit of Hotham. So I piled into the car with TA and she drove back down to the Rangers Hut. Dan arrived & he offered to drive TA's car back to Bright so she could ride back too. That was the last I saw of her for about half an hour; she dropped me (again) on the decent! TA was waiting in Harriotville and we enjoyed the ride back to Bright together. Stats: 99.19km. 5:25:25. Av. 18.3k/h. Av.HR 145
And no, I didn't jump off a cliff. The straight drop in elevation is the drive from the summit back down to the Rangers Hut.
In all a hot & difficult day. I still find myself completely surprised that I managed to make it to the summit. But I did :-)
Back at the car, it was by now about 2pm and 37 degrees in Bright. Feeling hot & tired, a can of cake and hot chips with chicken salt went down almost without touching the sides. Then it was time to drive back to Mt B for a long shower, stretching and a lazy afternoon enjoying a few local wines and cheese before our final dinner with the group
Sun: rest (if you can call travelling from Victoria up to Port Stephens by car, restful) & already looking forward to camp at the end of this year!
Dec:
Swim: 9.45km
Bike: 500.6km
So for the 2010 totals -
Swim: 185.75km
Bike: 4,148.7km
In comparison, 2009 stats are -
Swim: 94.7km (!)
Bike: 1,553.1km
Of course, 2010 has been an amazing year. New races, new friends, new achievements & new goals as well as my first wedding anniversary :-)) May 2011 bring many more of each :-)
This is going to be HUGE blog post. So to avoid boring you all, here is the executive summary-
- 7 days at a triathlon camp in Bright, Victoria with TA
- 4 rides, 3 swims + 1 run
- 3 mountains (Falls Creek, Buffalo & Hotham), 286km on the bike and over 4,880m elevation gain - my biggest week on the bike ever (I'm adopting the 85% rule rather than the 10% rule)
The extended version
I should have posted this on a daily basis but I didn't. So if anyone is tempted to even scan read what follows, make sure you have a comfy chair & your hydration and nutrition organised...
Now as I mentioned in my last post, I spent last week in (the appropriately named) Mt Beauty, Victoria at a triathlon camp being run by TA's coach
Mon: spent Boxing Day with the Mango clan in Canberra eating and drinking far too much. R & I left home about 8am on Monday morning in order to meet TA at Yass at 9am for the drive down to Mt Beauty, Victoria for camp. The drive from Wodonga into Mt Beauty was very daunting as the 'hills' around Falls Creek & Mt Bogong grew bigger & bigger the closer we got to Mt B. The prospect of having to ride up some of those hills this week left me with a knot in my stomach; TA & I joked about looking at the cows rather than looking at the size of the 'hills' in an effort to distract ourselves.
We arrived in Mt Beauty, our home away from home, just after 2pm and, after a very crazed period of unpacking the car, getting changed & pumping up tyres, we were on our bikes by 2.55pm and riding to the Mt B pool to meet everyone else for our first ride of camp; an 'easy' ride on a relatively 'flat route' to wake the legs up after the long ride. I think Dan, the coach, would be the first to admit that the ride wasn't as flat as he recalled. Throw in a nasty headwind on the return journey and it provided to be challenging. At times on the outward journey, I looked down & saw 34k/h on the speedo which should have been the first indication that things weren't quite right.
Once we turned around after 40mins, the reason for our speed on the outbound journey became evident - a nasty cross headwind slowed our progress so much so that the return journey took us 60mins! Stats: 1:56. 42.21km. Av. 21.7k/h.
Feeling very daunted and quite frankly, out of my depth at the moment. Looking at the mountains rise high above Mt Beauty & looking at the course profiles for the potential rides over the coming days, I have the feeling that perhaps I have bitten off more than I can chew for the Alpine Classic ride next month. But trying very hard to stay positive & not to psych myself out mentally...
Tue: Feeling calmer this morning & more confident mentally.
After a sleep-in, it was off to the local pool here in Mt Beauty for a swim session. After a warm up, we were first videoed swimming both from above & underwater which will be analysed during the course of the week by the coaches. Then I did a stroke correction session whilst TA did a swim fitness set. Approx. 2km in total
After lunch (steak sandwiches) it was back to our lodge for a couple of hours of R&R before a run at 4pm. The rest of the group had an organised run technique session followed by laps of the lake here in Mt B. However I decided not to join in in case I upset my hip. So I did a 30mins walk/shuffle from our apartment. So. Very. Hot. Our apartment is lovely and cool so I don't think any of us realised just how hot it was outside. 30mins was more than enough for me; I felt sorry for the others who were out in the hot sun for 90mins.
A chat during dinner left me feeling reasonably comfortable with our ride up Falls Creek tomorrow. It sounds fairly similar, albeit m-u-c-h longer, to the climb up from Berowa Waters. Mind you, the climb up Berowa is 4km long. Tomorrow the ride is 30km :-O At least I will be fully carb loaded after not one but two servings of bread & butter pudding at dinner :-O
Weird atmosphere in the house tonight. It feels like tomorrow is race day. Everyone, myself included, is running around organising their gear as though tomorrow is the more important race of the season. I guess everyone is a bit nervous about the first big ride of camp.
Wed: bad bad bad nights sleep. Tossed & turned so many times, wanting always to check the time but being unable to do so (I am sleeping on the top bunk for the first time in possibly decades!) By 5am I was out of bed & getting ready to leave by 6am for our ride up Falls Creek. A cool morning with a beautiful clear sky but thankfully not too cold. By 6am, we rolled out of our apartment & rode down to the Mt B pool to meet the rest of the group who are staying at another lodge on the other side of town. The climb started almost immediately. TA & I started, and stayed, at the back the whole way keeping our usual steady pace.
We knew it was 30kms from Mt B to Falls Creek so I kept looking for the kilometre markers. The first 5kms were uphill. From about the 7km to the 12kms mark, there were some downhills which were difficult to deal with mentally. It was not just the idea of losing all the altitude we had worked hard to ride up. But the idea of having to climb back up those hills on the return journey on tired legs was hard to think about. The rest of the climb was up, up, up with a few short downhill or flat sections to give our legs, and minds, a break.
There isn't much to say about this ride other than TA & I stayed together & kept climbing, climbing, climbing. The higher we got, the slower we got and the colder it got.
TA decided to stop once we reached the gates to Falls Creek as she was suffering from back pain while I pushed on for the last 3-4 kms to the chalets. A wise decision for her to make; the last 3-4kms were probably the toughest. I was often out of my seat which rarely happens. The gradient increased slightly & despite the cool conditions, I was working so hard I had to roll down my arm warmers for the final push. Arrived 2:32 after leaving Mt B - yes, we basically rode uphill for 2 & 1/2 hours!
Cold weather at the top meant my stop was only brief. Checking the weather observations now, it appears that the temp was only 8.7 degrees. Not the best place to stop for a rest. So I quickly put on several layers of clothing for the (cold) descent & had a vegemite sandwich - the BEST mid-ride food on the planet - and then set off back down the hill. When I first started downhill, my bike felt like it was slipping on the road. I first thought that maybe it was the road surface or perhaps something was on my wheel. But I soon realised that it was probably the wind. It turns out the wind speed was about 35k/h and gusts of up to 46k/h at the time I was at Falls Creek. Thankfully I dropped down into a much more protected area out of the wind quickly. But by this stage, I had already got cold; too cold. My fingers were numb; at one stage I actually couldn't feel my brakes nor my gear levers. Stopped at the gates where I had left TA & we set off down the mountains again. She quickly dropped me; that woman goes downhill like she is (to use a line from Pretty Woman) "on rails".
The weather warmed up quickly as I dropped in altitude so I stopped to peel off a few layers, finally arriving back in town 1hr 5mins after leaving the top. Felt tired but pleased with my effort. Stats: 4:01. 65.22km. Av. 16.2k/h. AvHR 139
A quick stretch & shower & it was off to the other lodge for lunch (homemade hamburgers) before returning to our lodge for a few hours of R&R.
No rest for the wicked as they say so at 4.30pm we headed off to the oval for a core & stretch session; the stretching was particularly needed by my poor tired legs :-(
Thu: slept like the proverbial log last night; perhaps my best sleep in weeks!
Up early again. Feeling more confident but somewhat flat this morning. I had a lot emotionally invested in climbing Falls Creek as it is part of the course for the Alpine Classic ride. I *had* to get to the summit of Falls Creek yesterday; I figured that if I couldn't summit it during this camp I would have no chance of summiting during the Alpine Classic. But today's climb, I am taking the view that it doesn't really matter whether I make it or not. I don't really have anything invested in this one so I can't say that I am feeling particularly enthusiastic about it.
This time we left Mt B at 6am for the drive across Tawonga Gap to Bright for our next ride; to the summit of Mt Buffalo. It was about 6.40am by the time we left the cars for the 35mins reasonably flat ride to the base of Buffalo. From there, it was up, up, up. Unlike Falls Creek which has a few brief flats or short downhill sections to break up the climbing, Buffalo doesn't. It just literally goes up. Looking at the elevation profile (see below), the first brief downhill section came after 2 hours of non-stop climbing.
I rode with TA for about the first 1.5hrs before she stopped due to back pain & I continued on for the rest of the ride on my own. I ended up passing 2 people, and catching another 2 at the top, all of whom were stronger on Falls Creek than I was which was quietly pleasing. I felt stronger as the ride went on though I don't know to what extent it was a physical thing or it was the mental boost that came from catching & passing people. Either way, this ride left me feeling confident about my climbing; I have a lot of work to do to pick up the pace but I know I can at least get up the hills (albeit slowly). I certainly felt great by the time I reached the summit after 3:05 of climbing. Brief stop at the summit to fill water bottles, have a chat to the others & put on a few layers of clothes & it was time to set off for the descent. Unlike Falls Creek it was warm and windy at the top of Buffalo. While I descend like a nana - ie, slowly - I am getting a lot of practice this week.
Despite the difficulty of this ride - and it was much tougher than Falls Creek - it turned out (much to my surprise) to be a great, and very beautiful, ride. It started off in the typical bushland setting, then quickly became beautiful lush green rainforest, before changing back to bushland before the classic high alpine vegetation of low grass, large rocks piled up in inexplicable ways, large blue lakes & trees twisted and deformed by the wind. Did I mention I really enjoyed this ride? Stats: 4:40. 80.35km. Av 17.2k/h. AvHR 138
The view from one of the lookouts that I stopped at briefly on the way back down the hill -
After lunch (sausage & steak sandwiches) and a bit of R&R, it was into the car for the hour drive to Lake Buffalo for an open water swim. While most donned their wetsuits, the water was (surprisingly) beautifully warm so I went without. Swam about 1km purely to try out some of the things Dan had mentioned in our previous swim session as well as flush the cr*p out of my legs after the climb up Buffalo in the morning.
Fri: finally a much deserved sleep-in! We didn't need to be at the pool for our swim session until 8.50am - yippee! Another stroke correction session for me. Plenty of water up my nose to demonstrate that I have plenty to work on. Only about 1.5km in total.
Enjoyed a relaxing afternoon off, resting, catching up on the news, eating, stretching & psyching myself up for tomorrow's big ride up Mt Hotham. At dinner lots of the experienced, and strongest, riders were talking about how tough Hotham was which left me nervous & wanting to escape in an attempt to keep myself in a good head space.
Sat: another bad bad bad nights sleep feeling very nervous about the ride up Mt Hotham. Awake before the alarm at 4.45am to get ready to the drive to Bright. Left the cars at about 6.30am for the 20km ride to Harriotville which is a gorgeous town at the base of Hotham. The road is basically a false flat for 20km so the ride felt much harder than it appeared. On arrival at Harriotville, we stopped for a toilet break and refilled the water bottles in anticipation of a very hot and hard ride up the mountain.
Within the first 3mins of leaving Harriotville, the road kicked up steeply and continued that way for basically 10kms. This section included a hairpin bend with its own name - "The Meg". You know a corner is bad when it has it's own name! You basically come around a tight left hand hairpin with a sharp rise and then the road continues to climb relatively steeply for about another 100-200m. Everyone had talked about how bad it was. But thankfully once we got to the corner, Dan was standing on the opposite side of the road & told us that there was no oncoming traffic so that we could use the whole road to get around the corner - thankfully. I'm not sure I would have made it up the hairpin itself had I needed to take the inside line due to traffic.
After about 10kms of solid climbing, the road started to plateau out. Still climbing but more a false flat as the road followed the side of the mountain with gorgeous views out towards a mountain I know now to be Hotham (so glad I didn't realise that at the time).
Speaking to people the night before, they had said the two most difficult parts of the climb were "The Meg" but also the 8km from the Rangers Hut to the summit. Some of the strongest women in the group who had previously attended the camp had never made it beyond the Rangers Hut to the village of Hotham. For that reason, the night before I had set myself the goal of riding to the Rangers Hut and saving the push to the summit until camp next year. But I arrived at the Rangers Hut feeling pretty good and with two other girls who were pushing onto the summit so I decided to go with them... :-O
Not sure what I am say about the next 8kms other than they were the most physically demanding thing I have ever done. Much harder than any climbing or mountaineering I have previously done because when you get tired doing those things you can stop, take time to recover before moving again. Much harder to do when riding a bike up a steep slope when stopping is likely to involve toppling over sideways & losing skin off your knee.
The last 8kms were basically (steep) rolling hills - see the elevation graph below - along the side of, or in some cases along the ridge line, on Mt Hotham with very strong crosswinds which were . Somewhere along here TA, who had previously turned around due to illness, drove past me in the car. It was a wonderful surprise and a nice boost to have her there. But I felt rude; I didn't acknowledge her or her encouragement enough because I was working so hard. I just had to keep my head down, focus on turning the pedals over & not look up. During this section, I also set a new record for me - slowest recorded pace whilst going uphill. I looked down at one point & saw 5.4k/h. It would have been faster to walk - which I often contemplated doing.
Finally, we got to the top & got to enjoy the roll down into Mt Hotham while trying to get the o2 back into my body arriving to find most of the group standing around cheering us in as we arrived. TA was also waiting for me and my sweaty hug (sorry TA!). We all decided to head to the cafe for a celebratory coffee. The crosswinds (around 50k/h with gusts around 70k/h!) and some gravel on the road in key downhill spots made most of us uncomfortable with the idea of riding down from the summit of Hotham. So I piled into the car with TA and she drove back down to the Rangers Hut. Dan arrived & he offered to drive TA's car back to Bright so she could ride back too. That was the last I saw of her for about half an hour; she dropped me (again) on the decent! TA was waiting in Harriotville and we enjoyed the ride back to Bright together. Stats: 99.19km. 5:25:25. Av. 18.3k/h. Av.HR 145
And no, I didn't jump off a cliff. The straight drop in elevation is the drive from the summit back down to the Rangers Hut.
In all a hot & difficult day. I still find myself completely surprised that I managed to make it to the summit. But I did :-)
Back at the car, it was by now about 2pm and 37 degrees in Bright. Feeling hot & tired, a can of cake and hot chips with chicken salt went down almost without touching the sides. Then it was time to drive back to Mt B for a long shower, stretching and a lazy afternoon enjoying a few local wines and cheese before our final dinner with the group
Sun: rest (if you can call travelling from Victoria up to Port Stephens by car, restful) & already looking forward to camp at the end of this year!
Dec:
Swim: 9.45km
Bike: 500.6km
So for the 2010 totals -
Swim: 185.75km
Bike: 4,148.7km
In comparison, 2009 stats are -
Swim: 94.7km (!)
Bike: 1,553.1km
Of course, 2010 has been an amazing year. New races, new friends, new achievements & new goals as well as my first wedding anniversary :-)) May 2011 bring many more of each :-)
Saturday, December 25, 2010
4... (aka Merry Christmas!)
Too much food & not enough sleep has been the theme of this week (*yikes*)
Tue & Wed: rest. Too much work & socialising. Too little sleep, exercise or packing...
Thu: despite still lacking sleep, I got up & did a short 35min windtrainer session on the bike in the garage followed by pilates exercises which I haven't done for a while. T'was a reasonably easy aerobic session which probably did much more for my mental state than my physical one. Far too many social engagements lately has left me feeling fat & yuk. 14.16km. Thursday also saw my last day in my role based at Rhodes. This has been, by far, the most difficult, demanding & stressful role in my life. The next chapter begins with a slightly different role in a related company on January 10 for a few months until I get my PT business up & running. Until then, it's holidays :-)))
Fri: up early again (*yawn*) on the first day of my holidays (*yippee*) for a 1.5km open water swim at the Regatta Centre at 6am. A pretty good swim; I felt reasonably good the whole time. No doubt the spare tyre around my waist at the moment is helping with buoyancy ;-) After breakfast I headed out on my short 25min walk/shuffle. Nothing to report other than the lack of 'run fitness' continues.
Sat: rest (Xmas Day). A wonderful day spent with my family including my brother & his g/f who are home for Christmas & my Nan whose condition - she has Parkinsons - has deteriorated greatly in the last few months. I think most of us realised that it would probably be our last Christmas together :-( Despite that, it was a special day.
Heading out for a mini walk/shuffle tomorrow (Sunday) morning before the start of 2 weeks of road trips for me; off to Canberra tomorrow for another day of Christmas excess with the Mango family before I head onto Mt Beauty in Victoria for 6 days at a tri camp with TA which I should - I hope - managed to lose some of the weight I have stacked on over the last month :-(
MTD:
Swim: 4.95km
Bike: 312.86km
Tue & Wed: rest. Too much work & socialising. Too little sleep, exercise or packing...
Thu: despite still lacking sleep, I got up & did a short 35min windtrainer session on the bike in the garage followed by pilates exercises which I haven't done for a while. T'was a reasonably easy aerobic session which probably did much more for my mental state than my physical one. Far too many social engagements lately has left me feeling fat & yuk. 14.16km. Thursday also saw my last day in my role based at Rhodes. This has been, by far, the most difficult, demanding & stressful role in my life. The next chapter begins with a slightly different role in a related company on January 10 for a few months until I get my PT business up & running. Until then, it's holidays :-)))
Fri: up early again (*yawn*) on the first day of my holidays (*yippee*) for a 1.5km open water swim at the Regatta Centre at 6am. A pretty good swim; I felt reasonably good the whole time. No doubt the spare tyre around my waist at the moment is helping with buoyancy ;-) After breakfast I headed out on my short 25min walk/shuffle. Nothing to report other than the lack of 'run fitness' continues.
Sat: rest (Xmas Day). A wonderful day spent with my family including my brother & his g/f who are home for Christmas & my Nan whose condition - she has Parkinsons - has deteriorated greatly in the last few months. I think most of us realised that it would probably be our last Christmas together :-( Despite that, it was a special day.
Heading out for a mini walk/shuffle tomorrow (Sunday) morning before the start of 2 weeks of road trips for me; off to Canberra tomorrow for another day of Christmas excess with the Mango family before I head onto Mt Beauty in Victoria for 6 days at a tri camp with TA which I should - I hope - managed to lose some of the weight I have stacked on over the last month :-(
MTD:
Swim: 4.95km
Bike: 312.86km
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
5....
I have a feeling I have miscounted the weeks until the ride. There is a reason I am a lawyer & not an accountant...
Wow. What a week it has been. I'm (almost) sick of the sight of food - and it's not even Christmas yet - and I'm exhausted. So just another typical lead in to Christmas basically ....
It's hard to believe that I forgot to mention anything in my previous post ;-) I did! I dropped my bike (aka Javier, Spartacus, Tenzing depending on my mood) in at the best bike shop in the world for a service after my ride last Sunday as he has been acting a little strangely lately. Turns out he had reason to be grumpy. My handle bar was bent quite significantly. The right hood (the top of the brake for the non-cyclists out there) was about 5cm lower than the left one. No wonder I've been getting a few aches & pains in my right leg recently :-O
Mon: 25mins walk/shuffle. As its been almost 2 weeks since my last walk/shuffle I decided to be sensible & take the short loop today. What little run fitness I had has certainly disappeared now. At lunch it was off to the pool for a 2.3km swim which included 6 x 200m at 70% then 4 x 100m at 80%. The additional spare tyre I seem to be carrying around my waist at the moment certainly has improved my buoyancy and body position in the water. Unfortunately it couldn't save my arms falling off during the 100m efforts...
To round out the day, I walked the 2.5km from my office to the ANZ Stadium at Homebush where I met R to attend the U2 concert :D
Tue: 14mins R&R (recovery & regen). I really wanted to do a strength session - not only do I lurve them but I also hate some changes in my body that I have noticed since my sessions have been inconsistent. However the rational side of my brain accepted that tired legs & less than 5 hours sleep is a sign the mind may be willing but the body is not. Yah for me for listening to my body!
Wed: (unscheduled) rest day. Stuffed up my train & therefore missed my last ever session with Carly. I am very sad to see her heading back to Perth :-( I did however manage to get to the bike shop in time to pick up Javier et al from the bike shop with a straight handle bar (yippee!) as well as get a much needed massage trying to straighten out my poor body after riding a wonky bike for so long.
Thu: 25mins brick session consisting of 20mins easy spin on the bike, quick shoe change then a 4 mins mostly downhill run (which is no doubt the only reason I managed to run for 4 mins straight).
Fri: rather than go to work, I called the office & told them I wouldn't be coming in, and instead spent the morning sightseeing in the Blue Mountains with my 'baby' brother, his g/f and their friend who arrived from Canada for Christmas on Thursday. After walking half way down, and then back up, the stairs at Wentworth Falls and having a steak sandwich for lunch, it suddenly occurred to me that it probably wasn't the best way to prepare for the Club Tri later in the evening - oh well. Turns out it works for me.
The club race started at 5pm. I again did the 'enticer' distance; this time 250m swim / 10k bike / 2 km run. There are no (official) splits for each of the legs but my official finishing time was 37:14.
I had a reasonably good swim; I looked up at one stage & could see heaps of people ahead of me which left me thinking that I was swimming slowly (which is what I do at the start of my normal (pool) swims). Apparently I wasn't as my watch read 4:32 as I got out of the water - about 30sec faster than during the Nepean enticer last weekend. The bike leg was largely uneventful except for when Mini Mango overtook me and I went into a mental meltdown for about 5mins. I can't begin to tell you how much it gets up my nose given how little she rides; something I know I need to work on as she is only going to get faster as she is starting to train seriously ;-) The run hurt my lungs; I must have been up above 90% the whole time. But I did manage to run a whole kilometre without stopping to walk. It is probably the first time I have done that during this comeback. I have a l-o-n-g way to go before the HIM in May though....
Sat: "rest" (if you consider Christmas shopping, a facial, a guest for afternoon tea & then dinner at a local restaurant with my family, a "rest")
Sun: A l-o-n-g day. A 5hr ride on my program today & no company so I set off on my own just before 6am for the Cobbity / Greendale loop. Within 15mins I had managed to ride over, and impale in my rear wheel, a 4 inch nail in my rear tyre. Time to change my tyres I think...
Otherwise it was an uneventful ride which actually seemed to pass quite quickly. I am feeling a bit frustrated by my riding at the moment. I am still seeing 21-21k/h on the same parts of the Northern Rd & 8-9k/h on the same hills on Cobbity that I was seeing at the start of the year. I am certainly getting fitter & I am building up more endurance. But it isn't translating to increased speed. Grrrrr. Anyhoo, it turned out to be my longest ride ever both in time & distance; 113.9km in 5:07 (22.2k/h)
Then it was off to the Bon Jovi concert at the SFS with my mum. I had thought that my legs would be protesting this given we were 'seated' in the mosh pit & I knew that we would be standing for much of it. We ended up standing for the entire 2.5 hour show. But I discovered that 2.5hrs on your feet dancing along to the music is a perfect way to keep the blood flowing through your legs; my legs feel fantastic! None of the 'dead legs' I experienced after last week's ride!
Mon: no run this morning; stayed up too late talking & raiding the mini-bar with Mum at the Sir Stamford Hotel at Circular Quay where we stayed after the show :-) Swim squad after work. I stopped counting the distance somewhere in the torturous laps where Michael was breaking down butterfly & *trying* to teach us. Let's say 2km for the sake of it. Did I mention it was torture??
Tue: rest
An easy week ahead before TA & I head off to tri camp in Victoria next week. Feeling very nervous about the whole thing, particularly about seeing the hills that are part of the Alpine Classic course :-O
MTD:
Swim: 3.45km
Bike: 298.7km
Wow. What a week it has been. I'm (almost) sick of the sight of food - and it's not even Christmas yet - and I'm exhausted. So just another typical lead in to Christmas basically ....
It's hard to believe that I forgot to mention anything in my previous post ;-) I did! I dropped my bike (aka Javier, Spartacus, Tenzing depending on my mood) in at the best bike shop in the world for a service after my ride last Sunday as he has been acting a little strangely lately. Turns out he had reason to be grumpy. My handle bar was bent quite significantly. The right hood (the top of the brake for the non-cyclists out there) was about 5cm lower than the left one. No wonder I've been getting a few aches & pains in my right leg recently :-O
Mon: 25mins walk/shuffle. As its been almost 2 weeks since my last walk/shuffle I decided to be sensible & take the short loop today. What little run fitness I had has certainly disappeared now. At lunch it was off to the pool for a 2.3km swim which included 6 x 200m at 70% then 4 x 100m at 80%. The additional spare tyre I seem to be carrying around my waist at the moment certainly has improved my buoyancy and body position in the water. Unfortunately it couldn't save my arms falling off during the 100m efforts...
To round out the day, I walked the 2.5km from my office to the ANZ Stadium at Homebush where I met R to attend the U2 concert :D
Tue: 14mins R&R (recovery & regen). I really wanted to do a strength session - not only do I lurve them but I also hate some changes in my body that I have noticed since my sessions have been inconsistent. However the rational side of my brain accepted that tired legs & less than 5 hours sleep is a sign the mind may be willing but the body is not. Yah for me for listening to my body!
Wed: (unscheduled) rest day. Stuffed up my train & therefore missed my last ever session with Carly. I am very sad to see her heading back to Perth :-( I did however manage to get to the bike shop in time to pick up Javier et al from the bike shop with a straight handle bar (yippee!) as well as get a much needed massage trying to straighten out my poor body after riding a wonky bike for so long.
Thu: 25mins brick session consisting of 20mins easy spin on the bike, quick shoe change then a 4 mins mostly downhill run (which is no doubt the only reason I managed to run for 4 mins straight).
Fri: rather than go to work, I called the office & told them I wouldn't be coming in, and instead spent the morning sightseeing in the Blue Mountains with my 'baby' brother, his g/f and their friend who arrived from Canada for Christmas on Thursday. After walking half way down, and then back up, the stairs at Wentworth Falls and having a steak sandwich for lunch, it suddenly occurred to me that it probably wasn't the best way to prepare for the Club Tri later in the evening - oh well. Turns out it works for me.
The club race started at 5pm. I again did the 'enticer' distance; this time 250m swim / 10k bike / 2 km run. There are no (official) splits for each of the legs but my official finishing time was 37:14.
I had a reasonably good swim; I looked up at one stage & could see heaps of people ahead of me which left me thinking that I was swimming slowly (which is what I do at the start of my normal (pool) swims). Apparently I wasn't as my watch read 4:32 as I got out of the water - about 30sec faster than during the Nepean enticer last weekend. The bike leg was largely uneventful except for when Mini Mango overtook me and I went into a mental meltdown for about 5mins. I can't begin to tell you how much it gets up my nose given how little she rides; something I know I need to work on as she is only going to get faster as she is starting to train seriously ;-) The run hurt my lungs; I must have been up above 90% the whole time. But I did manage to run a whole kilometre without stopping to walk. It is probably the first time I have done that during this comeback. I have a l-o-n-g way to go before the HIM in May though....
Sat: "rest" (if you consider Christmas shopping, a facial, a guest for afternoon tea & then dinner at a local restaurant with my family, a "rest")
Sun: A l-o-n-g day. A 5hr ride on my program today & no company so I set off on my own just before 6am for the Cobbity / Greendale loop. Within 15mins I had managed to ride over, and impale in my rear wheel, a 4 inch nail in my rear tyre. Time to change my tyres I think...
Otherwise it was an uneventful ride which actually seemed to pass quite quickly. I am feeling a bit frustrated by my riding at the moment. I am still seeing 21-21k/h on the same parts of the Northern Rd & 8-9k/h on the same hills on Cobbity that I was seeing at the start of the year. I am certainly getting fitter & I am building up more endurance. But it isn't translating to increased speed. Grrrrr. Anyhoo, it turned out to be my longest ride ever both in time & distance; 113.9km in 5:07 (22.2k/h)
Then it was off to the Bon Jovi concert at the SFS with my mum. I had thought that my legs would be protesting this given we were 'seated' in the mosh pit & I knew that we would be standing for much of it. We ended up standing for the entire 2.5 hour show. But I discovered that 2.5hrs on your feet dancing along to the music is a perfect way to keep the blood flowing through your legs; my legs feel fantastic! None of the 'dead legs' I experienced after last week's ride!
Mon: no run this morning; stayed up too late talking & raiding the mini-bar with Mum at the Sir Stamford Hotel at Circular Quay where we stayed after the show :-) Swim squad after work. I stopped counting the distance somewhere in the torturous laps where Michael was breaking down butterfly & *trying* to teach us. Let's say 2km for the sake of it. Did I mention it was torture??
Tue: rest
An easy week ahead before TA & I head off to tri camp in Victoria next week. Feeling very nervous about the whole thing, particularly about seeing the hills that are part of the Alpine Classic course :-O
MTD:
Swim: 3.45km
Bike: 298.7km
Sunday, December 12, 2010
6... (Holy moly)
Wow, 2 weeks since my last update & so much has happened so apologies in advance for the l-o-n-g post. I can't believe that it is now only 6 weeks until the Alpine Classic. Far. Out.
Mon: unscheduled rest day due to (stoopid) work
Tue: after last Friday's run, my *good* hip was sore (WTF!). I decided to go back to my mini walk/shuffle (25mins) loop. Then lunch saw a 2km swim to make up for the fact that I missed swim squad last night
Wed: Back on the windtrainer (for the last time in a week) for Spinervals Uphill Grind DVD (45mins)
Thu: rest (travelling to Queenstown)
Fri-Sun: spent 3 days at a PT mentorship program run. Amazing, amazing time. It has really changed my whole view about how I see the body & how I can use the tools I now have to help clients make the changes they want to make. I've basically been learning how to read the feedback the body gives us & how to feed it intelligent movement; the movement it needs to function optimally. Unfortunately few of us - myself included - actually listen to it. A big lesson for me personally is not just the importance of rest and recovery but why from hormonal
level and how lifestyle stress (sleeping, nutrition, mental & emotional stress) can completely undermine our best (training) intentions & efforts. I think the hardest part is now going to be practising what I preach. It has been a brilliant time spent surrounded by passionate people whose brains I picked incessantly between sessions.
Friday was spent largely in the board room of the beautiful resort hosting it learning about the systems and science behind why & how we do things (with some practical 'challenges' thrown in). Saturday morning was another morning spent on the theory. Then after lunch it was off on a short drive to the local sporting grounds 'playing' for 1.5hrs in the sun with reaction, agility, quickness drills (amongst many other things) before heading inside to the pool for a 45mins rest and recovery session
Sunday was spent applying the tools we learnt over the weekend before heading to the 'beach' by the lake for a play with the ViPR
Mon: one spare day in Queenstown & there was only one thing to do; head to the hills. I had organised a climb to the summit of the Remarkables which tower over Queenstown-
The weather didn't look promising when I woke on Monday morning. The lake and mountains were blanketed in low clouds & rain had settled over the town so we made the decision to push back our start by 2 hrs until 10am; as the sun didn't set until 10pm we weren't likely to be short on daylight. I must admit that part of me was hoping it would be cancelled as I was feeling very tired after a big weekend. But by the time 10am rolled around, the weather had started to clear so we set off.
After a spectacular drive up to the ski field, we had about 700m in elevation gain to get to the summit. This took about 4 hours of rock hopping, rock scrambling, ice climbing up a narrow chute & then traversing a narrow ridge to the summit. I took a little bit of a tumble at one stage which seems to have upset my dodgy ankle (ie, the one I just about destroyed before my o/s travels about 2 years ago) but otherwise it was a great day.
The low cloud remained all day obscuring any view except for a short window about 20mins after we arrived on the summit so I could get the obligatory summit photos.
It was great to get my 'mountain fix' and start making plans for a return in the not too distant future.
Tue: rest (travel home)
Wed: rest - 9hrs sleep, day off work spent unpacking, tidying up & writing business plans :-)
Thu: up at 5am for a 70min windtrainer session in the garage. It was nice to get back on the bike after not having ridden it for a week. 27.19km.
Fri: R, Mini Mango & I were up at 5.20am to head down to the Regatta Centre for an open water swim with the Panthers Tri Club. Covered about 1.2km in total, slowing increasing the distance ahead of my next big 'swim' event; the 2km Cole Classic swim in February.
Sat: after Ma's baked dinner on Friday night, I was up early in order to meet Tiger Angel at Hornsby at 6.30am for a 4.5 hour long ride. It was cool in the shade when we started but quickly warmed up. A tough, hot & hilly ride. I can't say I feel more confident about the Alpine Classic after the ride but at least I don't feel less confident :-O 89.3km in 4:27
Sun: another day, another ride - this time 95mins. I really struggled with the decision about which way to go; whether to take the flatter (easier) route or ride up Lapstone Hill to Blaxland. In the end my bike steered itself in the direction of Lapstone Hill; it seems the prospect of the Alpine Classic being only 6 weeks away is making Tenzing, my bike, nervous too. Finished with 33.01km in 1:33 making a total 1,353m in elevation gain on the bike this weekend. No wonder my legs are tired today!
With the silly season ahead, it's going to be a tiring week. But I have 2 weeks off work from Christmas Eve to look forward to :-D
November total
Swim: 15.5km
Bike: 402.1km
MTD:
Swim: 1.2km
Bike: 168.1km
Mon: unscheduled rest day due to (stoopid) work
Tue: after last Friday's run, my *good* hip was sore (WTF!). I decided to go back to my mini walk/shuffle (25mins) loop. Then lunch saw a 2km swim to make up for the fact that I missed swim squad last night
Wed: Back on the windtrainer (for the last time in a week) for Spinervals Uphill Grind DVD (45mins)
Thu: rest (travelling to Queenstown)
Fri-Sun: spent 3 days at a PT mentorship program run. Amazing, amazing time. It has really changed my whole view about how I see the body & how I can use the tools I now have to help clients make the changes they want to make. I've basically been learning how to read the feedback the body gives us & how to feed it intelligent movement; the movement it needs to function optimally. Unfortunately few of us - myself included - actually listen to it. A big lesson for me personally is not just the importance of rest and recovery but why from hormonal
level and how lifestyle stress (sleeping, nutrition, mental & emotional stress) can completely undermine our best (training) intentions & efforts. I think the hardest part is now going to be practising what I preach. It has been a brilliant time spent surrounded by passionate people whose brains I picked incessantly between sessions.
Friday was spent largely in the board room of the beautiful resort hosting it learning about the systems and science behind why & how we do things (with some practical 'challenges' thrown in). Saturday morning was another morning spent on the theory. Then after lunch it was off on a short drive to the local sporting grounds 'playing' for 1.5hrs in the sun with reaction, agility, quickness drills (amongst many other things) before heading inside to the pool for a 45mins rest and recovery session
Sunday was spent applying the tools we learnt over the weekend before heading to the 'beach' by the lake for a play with the ViPR
Mon: one spare day in Queenstown & there was only one thing to do; head to the hills. I had organised a climb to the summit of the Remarkables which tower over Queenstown-
The weather didn't look promising when I woke on Monday morning. The lake and mountains were blanketed in low clouds & rain had settled over the town so we made the decision to push back our start by 2 hrs until 10am; as the sun didn't set until 10pm we weren't likely to be short on daylight. I must admit that part of me was hoping it would be cancelled as I was feeling very tired after a big weekend. But by the time 10am rolled around, the weather had started to clear so we set off.
After a spectacular drive up to the ski field, we had about 700m in elevation gain to get to the summit. This took about 4 hours of rock hopping, rock scrambling, ice climbing up a narrow chute & then traversing a narrow ridge to the summit. I took a little bit of a tumble at one stage which seems to have upset my dodgy ankle (ie, the one I just about destroyed before my o/s travels about 2 years ago) but otherwise it was a great day.
The low cloud remained all day obscuring any view except for a short window about 20mins after we arrived on the summit so I could get the obligatory summit photos.
It was great to get my 'mountain fix' and start making plans for a return in the not too distant future.
Tue: rest (travel home)
Wed: rest - 9hrs sleep, day off work spent unpacking, tidying up & writing business plans :-)
Thu: up at 5am for a 70min windtrainer session in the garage. It was nice to get back on the bike after not having ridden it for a week. 27.19km.
Fri: R, Mini Mango & I were up at 5.20am to head down to the Regatta Centre for an open water swim with the Panthers Tri Club. Covered about 1.2km in total, slowing increasing the distance ahead of my next big 'swim' event; the 2km Cole Classic swim in February.
Sat: after Ma's baked dinner on Friday night, I was up early in order to meet Tiger Angel at Hornsby at 6.30am for a 4.5 hour long ride. It was cool in the shade when we started but quickly warmed up. A tough, hot & hilly ride. I can't say I feel more confident about the Alpine Classic after the ride but at least I don't feel less confident :-O 89.3km in 4:27
Sun: another day, another ride - this time 95mins. I really struggled with the decision about which way to go; whether to take the flatter (easier) route or ride up Lapstone Hill to Blaxland. In the end my bike steered itself in the direction of Lapstone Hill; it seems the prospect of the Alpine Classic being only 6 weeks away is making Tenzing, my bike, nervous too. Finished with 33.01km in 1:33 making a total 1,353m in elevation gain on the bike this weekend. No wonder my legs are tired today!
With the silly season ahead, it's going to be a tiring week. But I have 2 weeks off work from Christmas Eve to look forward to :-D
November total
Swim: 15.5km
Bike: 402.1km
MTD:
Swim: 1.2km
Bike: 168.1km
Sunday, November 28, 2010
8...
A(nother) busy week. Work has been busy but steady & will shortly wind down (*yippee*). Thankfully this means that I will also be working on a part time basis from mid-December which will give me a wonderful opportunity to get my business officially up & running (*yippee*).
Mon: a short 25min walk/shuffle today. Probably more walking than shuffling but as I haven't run - sorry, I meant shuffled - much in recent weeks, I took it very easy today. Swim squad after work was a solid session with 8 x 50m breaststroke kick (ie, no arms) and later 4 x 200m, each one successively faster. Ouchy! 2.45km
Tue: I had planned to go to the gym straight from work but managed to leave my gym bag at home. Stoopid. So rather than waste time travelling to/from the gym, I decided to spend some time 'playing' with ViPR instead. 25mins in total consisting of sets of 45sec effort & then 45sec recovery. A short but solid session.
Wed: 60mins pilates with Carly.
Thu: a big-ish day of training for me. 70min interval session on the windtrainer at 5am. My legs felt flat & as such I probably didn't work as hard as I did last time. Oh well, it got done. 24.5k before my cadence sensor on my bike died at the 58min mark. Then at lunch it was off to the pool for a 2km swim. It was a solid session and finally I felt like I am starting to swim well again.
Fri: a 45mins walk/shuffle along my usual route. I haven't done this distance in several weeks now so I took it very easily with only short 'shuffles' intervals and regular walks.
Sat: up early for my 4hr long ride before a busy weekend. I set out from home just before 7am for the ride out along Cobbity Rd. I haven't done this ride since June & so was very uncertain as to how it would go. Cobbity is a bit like a roller coaster; the initial hills are short & sharp. Each hill then seems to get longer & harder until the last hill makes you feel like someone is trying to remove your lungs via your nose (*apologies for anyone eating whilst reading this*).
The last time I did was ride was on June 5. I didn't feel like I was riding up the hills any faster - I certainly saw 9km/h more than once - but I certainly felt like I was recovering faster from the hills. Despite the lack of big mileage lately, when I checked my stats when I got home I was very pleased to see that I did this ride 9mins faster than I last time. Beautiful weather for a hard ride. 92.7km in 4:03 (av. 22.8k/h)
Sun: an overnight trip to Newcastle for my aunt's surprise birthday, and the logistics associated with it, meant I wasn't able to ride this morning. By the time we got back to Sydney it was raining, so I headed to the windtrainer in the garage for my 80mins ride. So I did the first 80mins of one of the aerobic endurance Spinervals DVDs that I recently added to our collection followed by a 5min cool down. A (very) solid, and sweaty, session - tiring but good :-) 36.7km in 1:25.
A recovery week to look forward to now after another solid training block. Oh, and a trip to New Zealand ;-D
MTD:
Swim: 13.5km
Bike: 402.1km
Mon: a short 25min walk/shuffle today. Probably more walking than shuffling but as I haven't run - sorry, I meant shuffled - much in recent weeks, I took it very easy today. Swim squad after work was a solid session with 8 x 50m breaststroke kick (ie, no arms) and later 4 x 200m, each one successively faster. Ouchy! 2.45km
Tue: I had planned to go to the gym straight from work but managed to leave my gym bag at home. Stoopid. So rather than waste time travelling to/from the gym, I decided to spend some time 'playing' with ViPR instead. 25mins in total consisting of sets of 45sec effort & then 45sec recovery. A short but solid session.
Wed: 60mins pilates with Carly.
Thu: a big-ish day of training for me. 70min interval session on the windtrainer at 5am. My legs felt flat & as such I probably didn't work as hard as I did last time. Oh well, it got done. 24.5k before my cadence sensor on my bike died at the 58min mark. Then at lunch it was off to the pool for a 2km swim. It was a solid session and finally I felt like I am starting to swim well again.
Fri: a 45mins walk/shuffle along my usual route. I haven't done this distance in several weeks now so I took it very easily with only short 'shuffles' intervals and regular walks.
Sat: up early for my 4hr long ride before a busy weekend. I set out from home just before 7am for the ride out along Cobbity Rd. I haven't done this ride since June & so was very uncertain as to how it would go. Cobbity is a bit like a roller coaster; the initial hills are short & sharp. Each hill then seems to get longer & harder until the last hill makes you feel like someone is trying to remove your lungs via your nose (*apologies for anyone eating whilst reading this*).
The last time I did was ride was on June 5. I didn't feel like I was riding up the hills any faster - I certainly saw 9km/h more than once - but I certainly felt like I was recovering faster from the hills. Despite the lack of big mileage lately, when I checked my stats when I got home I was very pleased to see that I did this ride 9mins faster than I last time. Beautiful weather for a hard ride. 92.7km in 4:03 (av. 22.8k/h)
Sun: an overnight trip to Newcastle for my aunt's surprise birthday, and the logistics associated with it, meant I wasn't able to ride this morning. By the time we got back to Sydney it was raining, so I headed to the windtrainer in the garage for my 80mins ride. So I did the first 80mins of one of the aerobic endurance Spinervals DVDs that I recently added to our collection followed by a 5min cool down. A (very) solid, and sweaty, session - tiring but good :-) 36.7km in 1:25.
A recovery week to look forward to now after another solid training block. Oh, and a trip to New Zealand ;-D
MTD:
Swim: 13.5km
Bike: 402.1km
Sunday, November 21, 2010
9...
Thanks everyone :-) It's not hard too miss racing Ewen when you've forgotten what it's like. In fact I have often distanced myself (even further) from racing by choosing not to spectate at races that R participates in. Constantly getting ask why you aren't racing gets a bit old after a while - not to mention after 2.5 years!
I wouldn't say I am back in the game Chris. My 'run' leg revealed that I have a heck of a long way to go in terms of being able to control momentum, particularly when running off the bike. This is going to be crucial if I am to remain injury free as the distance (hopefully) increases over the next few months. But at least I am getting a much better awareness of how my body functions (or doesn't as the case may be!)
I felt incredibly tired earlier in the week but working from home on Thursday & then taking Friday off work helped to make me feel human again.
Mon: swim squad after work was a relatively easy one as most of the squad was backing up from the Nepean Tri the day before (2.45km)
Tue: rest
Wed: 60min pilates w/ Carly
Thu: 8hrs of sleep - unheard of on a school night - and I was feeling almost human again. This allowed me to smack myself during the Spinervals "Big Gear Strength" DVD on the windtrainer in that garage at 6am. 56min including 3 x 10 lunges. 20.6k
Fri: an early start despite being a day off work (yippee!) in order to head down to the Regatta Centre for an open water swim. 1km only today as it was my longest open water swim since Yeppoon in August; the distance will slowly increase over coming weeks.
Sat: after weeks of cr*p weather, I was very relieved to see a beautiful clear blue sky when I got up. With a 3.5 long hour ride on the program & only 9 weeks until Alpine Classic, there was only one thing to do; psych myself up & head for the hills! First I went headed out towards Richmond (which is flat & dead) before turning off onto Springwood Road for the trip up the 'hill' to Springwood. The first part of this is tough; a short steep incline followed by lots of switchbacks but then it eases off.
Once I got to Springwood, I had some extra time to make up so I turned right & headed further up the mountain. I discovered that is a vortex between Linden & Woodford; it turns out there is nowhere to turn around so you get sucked along the highway all the way to Woodford. Of course, this also has to be one of the hilliest sections - go figure!
I was surprised how reasonable I felt - I won't say I was feeling good - when I got to Woodford (el. 609m). It put both my goal of riding to Katoomba this summer and Alpine Classic in sharper focus.
Finished with 82.3k in 3:46 (21.8k/h av - aver HR145)
Sun: after my mum's surprise 60th birthday party last night, I wasn't too enthusiastic about getting out of bed this morning for my ride. But another beautiful clear blue sky made the decision a bit easier. 80min ride on the program today so I did an out & back along Northern Rd which is basically flat with a detour via Chain O Ponds Rd which is like the local equivalent of Matthew Flinders Drive in Port Macquarie but on steroids. Legs were feeling a bit flat & without much speed in them. So aside from Chain O Ponds, I just focused on keeping my cadence steady & disregarding speed. Finished with 30.8km in 1:19.
The next 6 weeks are incredibly hectic so time to focus on looking after myself as much as possible
MTD:
Swim: 9.05km
Bike: 247.3km
I wouldn't say I am back in the game Chris. My 'run' leg revealed that I have a heck of a long way to go in terms of being able to control momentum, particularly when running off the bike. This is going to be crucial if I am to remain injury free as the distance (hopefully) increases over the next few months. But at least I am getting a much better awareness of how my body functions (or doesn't as the case may be!)
I felt incredibly tired earlier in the week but working from home on Thursday & then taking Friday off work helped to make me feel human again.
Mon: swim squad after work was a relatively easy one as most of the squad was backing up from the Nepean Tri the day before (2.45km)
Tue: rest
Wed: 60min pilates w/ Carly
Thu: 8hrs of sleep - unheard of on a school night - and I was feeling almost human again. This allowed me to smack myself during the Spinervals "Big Gear Strength" DVD on the windtrainer in that garage at 6am. 56min including 3 x 10 lunges. 20.6k
Fri: an early start despite being a day off work (yippee!) in order to head down to the Regatta Centre for an open water swim. 1km only today as it was my longest open water swim since Yeppoon in August; the distance will slowly increase over coming weeks.
Sat: after weeks of cr*p weather, I was very relieved to see a beautiful clear blue sky when I got up. With a 3.5 long hour ride on the program & only 9 weeks until Alpine Classic, there was only one thing to do; psych myself up & head for the hills! First I went headed out towards Richmond (which is flat & dead) before turning off onto Springwood Road for the trip up the 'hill' to Springwood. The first part of this is tough; a short steep incline followed by lots of switchbacks but then it eases off.
Once I got to Springwood, I had some extra time to make up so I turned right & headed further up the mountain. I discovered that is a vortex between Linden & Woodford; it turns out there is nowhere to turn around so you get sucked along the highway all the way to Woodford. Of course, this also has to be one of the hilliest sections - go figure!
I was surprised how reasonable I felt - I won't say I was feeling good - when I got to Woodford (el. 609m). It put both my goal of riding to Katoomba this summer and Alpine Classic in sharper focus.
Finished with 82.3k in 3:46 (21.8k/h av - aver HR145)Sun: after my mum's surprise 60th birthday party last night, I wasn't too enthusiastic about getting out of bed this morning for my ride. But another beautiful clear blue sky made the decision a bit easier. 80min ride on the program today so I did an out & back along Northern Rd which is basically flat with a detour via Chain O Ponds Rd which is like the local equivalent of Matthew Flinders Drive in Port Macquarie but on steroids. Legs were feeling a bit flat & without much speed in them. So aside from Chain O Ponds, I just focused on keeping my cadence steady & disregarding speed. Finished with 30.8km in 1:19.
The next 6 weeks are incredibly hectic so time to focus on looking after myself as much as possible
MTD:
Swim: 9.05km
Bike: 247.3km
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