Only 4 days to go before you'll miss out on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to sponsor me to do the TdG for MS :-) Ok, so it's more likely to be a yearly event rather than a once-in-a-lifetime event but you don't want to miss out do you? :-) Just in case you missed it, donations can be made here!.
Thank you soooooo much to everyone who has donated so far. Together with a few more promised-but-yet-to-be-made donations, I'm up to $865 which is a sensational result - but I think we can do a little better. It is, after all, only $135 short of my goal of $1,000. And it's tax deductible. C'mon on - help me out here. You know you want to :-)
Monday
PM - gym session + 7:30 run + a scenic 1.5k swim followed by the most important element of any session in the pool - practicing my (underwater) handstands & backflips :-)
Tuesday
Rest. I've had a mini-niggle in my left quad (ITB related I think) since Monday morning. Unfortunately I had to cancel my massage due to work (again) so I'll have to sort it out with a rolling pin & butt plug myself (ouch).
Wednesday
AM - 27mins session on Betty in front of the telly at 4.45am today with lots of short, sharp efforts.
Getting nervous now...
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Blunt force trauma
I love Rocky movies. And recovery weeks.
Friday
AM - up at 4.30am (!) for a 45min session on Betty including 2 x 10mins AT. Ouch
Saturday
AM - 20mins walk + 5mins run (road)
PM - a scenic 1k swim
Sunday
AM - long ride.
A recovery week so only 2hrs was on the plan today. Finished with 45.43k in about 2:10. Felt very strong on the hills but feeling v. nervous about next week. Taper time.
Friday
AM - up at 4.30am (!) for a 45min session on Betty including 2 x 10mins AT. Ouch
Saturday
AM - 20mins walk + 5mins run (road)
PM - a scenic 1k swim
Sunday
AM - long ride.
A recovery week so only 2hrs was on the plan today. Finished with 45.43k in about 2:10. Felt very strong on the hills but feeling v. nervous about next week. Taper time.
Friday, October 26, 2007
You've got to be kidding me...
Not happy J(e)n. In fact I'm rather annoyed & pissed off.
Have just discovered my goal race for 2008 (Xterra to be held in Vic) is on the same weekend as R's goal race for 2008 (Port Mac IM).
So Six Foot is out & now Xterra is out. Great.
Have just discovered my goal race for 2008 (Xterra to be held in Vic) is on the same weekend as R's goal race for 2008 (Port Mac IM).
So Six Foot is out & now Xterra is out. Great.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Tour de Canberra
Woohoo!! Thank you so much to everyone who has donated so far money to the Tour de Gong for MS. We are up to $295 so far which is wonderful!!! Keep it coming :-D
Unfortunately, my grrrrrr week at work last week continued so much so that the week was pretty much a write off so far as my training is concerned. Missed 2 x swims, Friday's ride, 1 run, 1 gym session & too many physio-ordered exercises to count. As I said, Grrrrrrr. I am beginning to think that my lifestyle isn't particularly conducive to training in multi-sport events which annoys me immensely. But life is now so I will continue to persevere & take every available opportunity to get some training done.
Friday
PM - gym session + 5:30 run + (supposedly) daily physio ordered exercises
Saturday
AM - daily physio ordered exercises.
Sunday
AM - 3hr 15min long ride - last long ride before recovery & taper weeks
Today's route was courtesy of the Brothers Mango Cycling Tours who took me on a tour of Canberra. Although the distance was down from last week due to hills & (particularly over the last hour) traffic lights, it was the longest amount of time I have ever spent on a bike. We basically did a big loop around Canberra - from north of town along the Federal Highway, past the War Memorial, Mt Ainslie, ADFA, the National Art Gallery, Old Parliament House, (new) Parliament House, the Lodge, Government House, Canberra zoo, Black Mountain etc. Thanks for the guided tour boys! I made it (almost) half the way up Mt Ainslie before pulling the pin just before my heart was about to explode. I can't wait to get Apollo & his granny gears down there to see how much further up it I can go....
We also spent some very productive time over the weekend working on an anthem for our team for the Gong ride (2 Mangos A Brownie - our team name had a 'lost in translation' moment). Let's just say it's a work in progress. And no, there was no alcohol involved ;-)
Thinking about my ride I can hear Ellie in my mind doing her Little Britain impersonation ...."I'm a laaaaady". After peeing behind a bush in one of the parks in the centre of Canberra because the toilets were locked (something I would never have contemplated doing prior to my trip to Nepal!), spitting out a mouthful of water because I had swallowed a bug and coming home with a grease covered calf, I'm not sure that either of the Brothers Mango think I am anymore ;-)
Monday
Work-related rest day for the start of a recovery week
Tuesday
PM - massage + 6min run + gym session + scenic 1.2k swim. Nice !
Wednesday
AM - easy 30mins spin on Betty in front of the telly. Thanks to the fact it is a recovery week, I got to sleep in until, wait for it, 5am - woohoo ;-)
Only 10 days until the Gong ride. OMG !
Unfortunately, my grrrrrr week at work last week continued so much so that the week was pretty much a write off so far as my training is concerned. Missed 2 x swims, Friday's ride, 1 run, 1 gym session & too many physio-ordered exercises to count. As I said, Grrrrrrr. I am beginning to think that my lifestyle isn't particularly conducive to training in multi-sport events which annoys me immensely. But life is now so I will continue to persevere & take every available opportunity to get some training done.
Friday
PM - gym session + 5:30 run + (supposedly) daily physio ordered exercises
Saturday
AM - daily physio ordered exercises.
Sunday
AM - 3hr 15min long ride - last long ride before recovery & taper weeks
Today's route was courtesy of the Brothers Mango Cycling Tours who took me on a tour of Canberra. Although the distance was down from last week due to hills & (particularly over the last hour) traffic lights, it was the longest amount of time I have ever spent on a bike. We basically did a big loop around Canberra - from north of town along the Federal Highway, past the War Memorial, Mt Ainslie, ADFA, the National Art Gallery, Old Parliament House, (new) Parliament House, the Lodge, Government House, Canberra zoo, Black Mountain etc. Thanks for the guided tour boys! I made it (almost) half the way up Mt Ainslie before pulling the pin just before my heart was about to explode. I can't wait to get Apollo & his granny gears down there to see how much further up it I can go....
We also spent some very productive time over the weekend working on an anthem for our team for the Gong ride (2 Mangos A Brownie - our team name had a 'lost in translation' moment). Let's just say it's a work in progress. And no, there was no alcohol involved ;-)
Thinking about my ride I can hear Ellie in my mind doing her Little Britain impersonation ...."I'm a laaaaady". After peeing behind a bush in one of the parks in the centre of Canberra because the toilets were locked (something I would never have contemplated doing prior to my trip to Nepal!), spitting out a mouthful of water because I had swallowed a bug and coming home with a grease covered calf, I'm not sure that either of the Brothers Mango think I am anymore ;-)
Monday
Work-related rest day for the start of a recovery week
Tuesday
PM - massage + 6min run + gym session + scenic 1.2k swim. Nice !
Wednesday
AM - easy 30mins spin on Betty in front of the telly. Thanks to the fact it is a recovery week, I got to sleep in until, wait for it, 5am - woohoo ;-)
Only 10 days until the Gong ride. OMG !
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Le Tour de Gong
I (finally) entered the Gong ride this morning and later sent this email out to some of my friends & family -
Hello all :-)
As some of you know, I have decided to do the Sydney to Gong ride in 2 weeks time. For those of you who don't know, it's 90kms. Yes, that's right. 90kms. On a bike. OMG !
Anyhoo, this is a fundraising event for MS Australia so I encourage everyone to sponsor me :-) I had absolute no idea that the average age of diagnosis of MS is 30 (!) and 5 people are diagnosed every day. Besides, knowing that there is money on the line might be the only thing that stops me from climbing off the bike & curling up in a foetal position and sucking my thumb by the side of the road somewhere between here & the Gong ;-)
I've set myself the goal of raising $1,000 - a HUGE task given the race is only 2 weeks away but hey, what's life without lofty goals.
J x
Donations can be made HERE!
Hello all :-)
As some of you know, I have decided to do the Sydney to Gong ride in 2 weeks time. For those of you who don't know, it's 90kms. Yes, that's right. 90kms. On a bike. OMG !
Anyhoo, this is a fundraising event for MS Australia so I encourage everyone to sponsor me :-) I had absolute no idea that the average age of diagnosis of MS is 30 (!) and 5 people are diagnosed every day. Besides, knowing that there is money on the line might be the only thing that stops me from climbing off the bike & curling up in a foetal position and sucking my thumb by the side of the road somewhere between here & the Gong ;-)
I've set myself the goal of raising $1,000 - a HUGE task given the race is only 2 weeks away but hey, what's life without lofty goals.
J x
Donations can be made HERE!
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Ugly
Another one of those weeks so far I'm afraid. Grrrr
Monday
Rest day. Up to Brisvegas & back for work. 17 hours working & travelling does not a very restful rest day make. Eventually got home at 10.15pm. Nice.
Tuesday
Gave myself a sleep-in this morning until, wait for it, 6.45am. How sad. Unfortunately I didn't get home from work until after 9.15pm so another rest day thanks to work. Grrrrr.
Wednesday
AM - finally some movement. 40mins session on Betty at c100-110 at 4.45am. Given my pedalling style is more Ulrich than Armstrong, it was tough.
PM - home from work at 8.30pm so Monday's swim/gym session is officially a write off. Grrrrrrrr.
Not happy Jan.
Monday
Rest day. Up to Brisvegas & back for work. 17 hours working & travelling does not a very restful rest day make. Eventually got home at 10.15pm. Nice.
Tuesday
Gave myself a sleep-in this morning until, wait for it, 6.45am. How sad. Unfortunately I didn't get home from work until after 9.15pm so another rest day thanks to work. Grrrrr.
Wednesday
AM - finally some movement. 40mins session on Betty at c100-110 at 4.45am. Given my pedalling style is more Ulrich than Armstrong, it was tough.
PM - home from work at 8.30pm so Monday's swim/gym session is officially a write off. Grrrrrrrr.
Not happy Jan.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Found - 1 pair of VMOs !
For the first time in my life, I have discovered my VMOs!! Woohoo. I don't think you can quite understand how exciting this is unless you are a woman who has (had) a bad Q angle & who was struggled with hip & ITB problems for years. I know Lulu will understand :-)
Saturday
AM - long ride - 61.76k in 2:41 (aver 23.0k/h)
I have been feeling a bit nervous about the Gong ride at the moment. Today's ride was a huge - and much needed - confidence boost for me :-)
It was very cool out on the M7 bike path this morning in the shade. Thankfully I was able to borrow R's arm warmers so I didn't freeze to death. The first 20-30mins were pretty rough as my quads reminded me of the torture I inflicted on them on Thursday. But slowly & surely we picked up the pace. It's amazing the difference that the last 2-3 weeks of consistent training has produced - I felt really strong & fit today climbing the nasty hills out near Elizabeth Drive. The first time I rode up them on Betty (3 weeks ago now) I almost got off & walked! Happy days! I am however investigating putting a granny gear on Betty before the Gong ride - her lowest rear gear is a 23 - but I'm a bit undecided as to whether I'll need it...we'll see
Sunday
AM - after a sleep-in and following the big race at Kona - Macca & Crowie you bloody legends!! - I headed off to the pool. I have arranged a couple of private swimming lessons to work on my stoke. Given that it's been about 25 years since I last had formal instructions, I thought it was unlikely that my stroke was as effective & efficient as it could be ;-) The session was great & much to my surprise, she said my stroke was pretty good & gave me a few small things to work on.
Afterwards, I moved into the big pool for my 1.9k session keeping my new tricks in mind. I felt much better in the water than I did on Wednesday. From the pool it was into the gym for my 5min run on the tready followed by the usual gym session. Legs are feeling pretty stuffed now!
Off to Brisbane for work tomorrow & possibly Tuesday and then we are in Canberra next weekend for family stuff so my sessions over the coming week will have to be shuffled around. Again.
Saturday
AM - long ride - 61.76k in 2:41 (aver 23.0k/h)
I have been feeling a bit nervous about the Gong ride at the moment. Today's ride was a huge - and much needed - confidence boost for me :-)
It was very cool out on the M7 bike path this morning in the shade. Thankfully I was able to borrow R's arm warmers so I didn't freeze to death. The first 20-30mins were pretty rough as my quads reminded me of the torture I inflicted on them on Thursday. But slowly & surely we picked up the pace. It's amazing the difference that the last 2-3 weeks of consistent training has produced - I felt really strong & fit today climbing the nasty hills out near Elizabeth Drive. The first time I rode up them on Betty (3 weeks ago now) I almost got off & walked! Happy days! I am however investigating putting a granny gear on Betty before the Gong ride - her lowest rear gear is a 23 - but I'm a bit undecided as to whether I'll need it...we'll see
Sunday
AM - after a sleep-in and following the big race at Kona - Macca & Crowie you bloody legends!! - I headed off to the pool. I have arranged a couple of private swimming lessons to work on my stoke. Given that it's been about 25 years since I last had formal instructions, I thought it was unlikely that my stroke was as effective & efficient as it could be ;-) The session was great & much to my surprise, she said my stroke was pretty good & gave me a few small things to work on.
Afterwards, I moved into the big pool for my 1.9k session keeping my new tricks in mind. I felt much better in the water than I did on Wednesday. From the pool it was into the gym for my 5min run on the tready followed by the usual gym session. Legs are feeling pretty stuffed now!
Off to Brisbane for work tomorrow & possibly Tuesday and then we are in Canberra next weekend for family stuff so my sessions over the coming week will have to be shuffled around. Again.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Permission to launch !
Friday
PM - 15min walk + 5min run + daily physio-ordered exercises
I saw the physio at lunch today. He's really happy with my progress & has given me to the ok to slowly crank up the running as of next week! Woohoo. So far as the daily exercises & gym sessions are concerned, he doesn't want to change it too much now due to the Gong ride only being 3 weeks away. But once that's over, the strength work will also have a serious overhaul & increase. Woohoo !
But don't worry, "crank" of course is a relative term. I'm under instructions to make a slow transition to running on the road again after running on the tready for a while & to make very conservative increases - around 10% each week - which means next week I get to run for a whole 1min 30sec longer, LOL ;-) Still, it's better than nothing- happy days!
PM - 15min walk + 5min run + daily physio-ordered exercises
I saw the physio at lunch today. He's really happy with my progress & has given me to the ok to slowly crank up the running as of next week! Woohoo. So far as the daily exercises & gym sessions are concerned, he doesn't want to change it too much now due to the Gong ride only being 3 weeks away. But once that's over, the strength work will also have a serious overhaul & increase. Woohoo !
But don't worry, "crank" of course is a relative term. I'm under instructions to make a slow transition to running on the road again after running on the tready for a while & to make very conservative increases - around 10% each week - which means next week I get to run for a whole 1min 30sec longer, LOL ;-) Still, it's better than nothing- happy days!
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Life is now
Right. In an effort to prevent my posts being longer & more boring than Ulysses, I'm going to try & post more regularly. Well, that's the plan anyway!
Work has been messing with my training plans - again. If anything this week has been a reminder to make the most of my training opportunities when they arise because work can become fn feral very quickly. But hey, that's life I suppose. Besides it's hard to be grumpy when you've just booked an escape to Brampton Island for a couple of days next month :-)
Monday
PM - gym session
Got stuck in the office so ran out of time to do both my gym session & swim so the gym session won. Then home to do the rest of my daily physio-ordered stuff
Tuesday
AM - up at 4.45am for a 40mins interval session on Betty.
On the menu today was lots of short & hard efforts. Ouchy. Turned out to be a feral day at work - unfortunately I had to cancel my (much-needed) massage & didn't get home from work until after 9.30 so catching up on Monday's (missed) swim was out of the question.
Wednesday
PM - gym session + 5mins run on the treadmill + 1k swim + daily physio-ordered stuff.
The swim was cr*p. It was supposed to be 1.4k including 2 x 500m efforts but I had absolutely nothing in the tank. It was a struggle even to do the 1k.
Thursday
AM - up at 4.30 to do 60mins on Betty in front of the telly off the seat with increased resistance to simulate hill climbing during the ad breaks.
Ouchy. Very ouchy so far as my quads were concerned. And let's just say tv viewing at 4.45am in the morning does not make for the most interesting hour. It was quite amusing actually. Thanks to the US morning shows today I learnt what handyman things around the house you should & shouldn't do yourself, how to disguise good healthy stuff in meals for your kids and how to potty train your children from 3mths old so they are "diaper-free". LOL Yep, all very helpful stuff ;-) Next time I'll be looking for a movie that we've taped with adds still in it...
Feeling very tired & fatigued now. Other than a physio appointment (which will include my 5mins run) tomorrow (Friday), nothing now until my long ride on Saturday. Good - I need some sleep.
Work has been messing with my training plans - again. If anything this week has been a reminder to make the most of my training opportunities when they arise because work can become fn feral very quickly. But hey, that's life I suppose. Besides it's hard to be grumpy when you've just booked an escape to Brampton Island for a couple of days next month :-)
Monday
PM - gym session
Got stuck in the office so ran out of time to do both my gym session & swim so the gym session won. Then home to do the rest of my daily physio-ordered stuff
Tuesday
AM - up at 4.45am for a 40mins interval session on Betty.
On the menu today was lots of short & hard efforts. Ouchy. Turned out to be a feral day at work - unfortunately I had to cancel my (much-needed) massage & didn't get home from work until after 9.30 so catching up on Monday's (missed) swim was out of the question.
Wednesday
PM - gym session + 5mins run on the treadmill + 1k swim + daily physio-ordered stuff.
The swim was cr*p. It was supposed to be 1.4k including 2 x 500m efforts but I had absolutely nothing in the tank. It was a struggle even to do the 1k.
Thursday
AM - up at 4.30 to do 60mins on Betty in front of the telly off the seat with increased resistance to simulate hill climbing during the ad breaks.
Ouchy. Very ouchy so far as my quads were concerned. And let's just say tv viewing at 4.45am in the morning does not make for the most interesting hour. It was quite amusing actually. Thanks to the US morning shows today I learnt what handyman things around the house you should & shouldn't do yourself, how to disguise good healthy stuff in meals for your kids and how to potty train your children from 3mths old so they are "diaper-free". LOL Yep, all very helpful stuff ;-) Next time I'll be looking for a movie that we've taped with adds still in it...
Feeling very tired & fatigued now. Other than a physio appointment (which will include my 5mins run) tomorrow (Friday), nothing now until my long ride on Saturday. Good - I need some sleep.
Monday, October 08, 2007
She's back.....
I've decided October is the month that I pull my finger out & get back to running :-) No (more) excuses or laziness!
Wednesday
AM - up early (again) for an cadence-based interval session on Betty while watching part of Dirty Dancing - another of my favourite movies :-) Let's just say the session proved to be tougher than it appeared on paper!
PM - headed to the pool after work to do the 1.6k swim that I was supposed to do on Monday but was too lazy - um, I mean tired - to get out of bed to do. Despite the outdoor pool being much more 'refreshing' than the beautiful warm pool at Southport, I really enjoyed this swim. It was one of those times when it all comes together - my stroke stayed long even during the efforts and body roll was good (something I struggle with abit given that I was taught - many many moons ago - not to roll). Oh and it was scenic ;-) Happy days !
Thursday
PM - gym session (including 5mins run, woohoo!) then home to do my daily physio-ordered stuff & a baked dinner courtesy of mum :-)
Friday
AM - another interval session - 52mins in total - on Betty on the trainer. 8 x 3mins efforts hard with 1min spin recovery were on the menu today. Yikes. After last night's gym session my legs were just about ready to drop off by the end of the session.
Saturday
AM - long ride - 51.24k in 2:28 (aver 20.6km/hr)
I've never ridden on consecutive days but this week's events (principally Tuesday morning's flight & Sunday's plans) left me with little choice. So I made sure that I was properly recovered after Friday's session.
Though today was not my longest ride (either in time or distance), thanks to the conditions it was by far my toughest. We left Rooty Hill to head to the M7 bike path at about 10.45am. For a change of scenery, we headed north & turned around on the T1 bike path not far after the end of the M7 bike path. It was hot & still - ick! Not long after the turnaround the westerly arrived (too late for us to get the benefit of the tailwind). Nice - a strong head wind. And then it become a crosswind when we followed the bike path as it headed south. By the time we made the final turn for home somewhere beyond the chicken farm, there were really strong (cross) wind gusts which pushed the bike sideways toward the guard rail - ick. I've never ridden in conditions like that. It was a bit scary at times. I didn't care about the time or speed anymore, I just wanted to get back to the car in one piece.
Of course the weather gods hadn't finished with us yet & so decided to add a duststorm to the equation. About which time I'd had enough & yelled out (much to the amusement of R) "bring it on weather gods!". After getting home, I discovered that the bike legs in some of the races at the Club Teams Champs at the Regatta Centre in Penrith had been cancelled due to the wind. Wimps ;-)
Needless to say the fact that our average speed was down wasn't surprising. I had planned to head to the pool to do my long swim in the afternoon but was too stuffed after the ride so I will have to miss that session for the week.
PM: daily physio-ordered stuff
Sunday
4 weeks to the Gong ride. OMG. I'm really nervous about this. Not so much the distance but the hills.....man, I really hope I don't have to get off & push. How embarrassing that would be....
AM - 20mins walk including 5min run. Legs feelin very fatigued after yesterday's ride.
PM - daily physio-ordered stuff
Wednesday
AM - up early (again) for an cadence-based interval session on Betty while watching part of Dirty Dancing - another of my favourite movies :-) Let's just say the session proved to be tougher than it appeared on paper!
PM - headed to the pool after work to do the 1.6k swim that I was supposed to do on Monday but was too lazy - um, I mean tired - to get out of bed to do. Despite the outdoor pool being much more 'refreshing' than the beautiful warm pool at Southport, I really enjoyed this swim. It was one of those times when it all comes together - my stroke stayed long even during the efforts and body roll was good (something I struggle with abit given that I was taught - many many moons ago - not to roll). Oh and it was scenic ;-) Happy days !
Thursday
PM - gym session (including 5mins run, woohoo!) then home to do my daily physio-ordered stuff & a baked dinner courtesy of mum :-)
Friday
AM - another interval session - 52mins in total - on Betty on the trainer. 8 x 3mins efforts hard with 1min spin recovery were on the menu today. Yikes. After last night's gym session my legs were just about ready to drop off by the end of the session.
Saturday
AM - long ride - 51.24k in 2:28 (aver 20.6km/hr)
I've never ridden on consecutive days but this week's events (principally Tuesday morning's flight & Sunday's plans) left me with little choice. So I made sure that I was properly recovered after Friday's session.
Though today was not my longest ride (either in time or distance), thanks to the conditions it was by far my toughest. We left Rooty Hill to head to the M7 bike path at about 10.45am. For a change of scenery, we headed north & turned around on the T1 bike path not far after the end of the M7 bike path. It was hot & still - ick! Not long after the turnaround the westerly arrived (too late for us to get the benefit of the tailwind). Nice - a strong head wind. And then it become a crosswind when we followed the bike path as it headed south. By the time we made the final turn for home somewhere beyond the chicken farm, there were really strong (cross) wind gusts which pushed the bike sideways toward the guard rail - ick. I've never ridden in conditions like that. It was a bit scary at times. I didn't care about the time or speed anymore, I just wanted to get back to the car in one piece.
Of course the weather gods hadn't finished with us yet & so decided to add a duststorm to the equation. About which time I'd had enough & yelled out (much to the amusement of R) "bring it on weather gods!". After getting home, I discovered that the bike legs in some of the races at the Club Teams Champs at the Regatta Centre in Penrith had been cancelled due to the wind. Wimps ;-)
Needless to say the fact that our average speed was down wasn't surprising. I had planned to head to the pool to do my long swim in the afternoon but was too stuffed after the ride so I will have to miss that session for the week.
PM: daily physio-ordered stuff
Sunday
4 weeks to the Gong ride. OMG. I'm really nervous about this. Not so much the distance but the hills.....man, I really hope I don't have to get off & push. How embarrassing that would be....
AM - 20mins walk including 5min run. Legs feelin very fatigued after yesterday's ride.
PM - daily physio-ordered stuff
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Whose to say where the road will lead us...
Pipe, I guess I can't call myself a real bike rider yet then - because I had my left foot out at the time of the fall. Unfortunately for some reason my balance - and Betty - went right ;-)
Friday
AM - a 50mins hills session on Betty as planned at 4.30am. On the trainer again using a variety of 'grindy' gears for untimed intervals. My knee is a tender & bruised after Wednesday's spill but otherwise ok.
Saturday
No opportunity for a sleep-in I'm afraid. We got up early-ish (well, early for me on a Saturday) and headed for the Southport pool which was less than 10 mins walk from our gorgeous apartment for my long swim. 2k in the beautiful warm Qld sun was a perfect way to start the weekend. The sun was, however, a little too warm. I managed to get a bit burnt despite the fact that we were out in the sun for less than an hour & back at our apartment by 10am. Man, I hate fair skin.
After breakfast & a cruisy morning in our apartment, we headed off to race HQ so R could check his bike in. During the (long, hot) walk from the car to race HQ, I managed to stub my toe - badly - and produced even more blood than came out of my knee last week. While there is no (still) photographic evidence, we did manage to capture the mess on video :-) After we had some lunch & R checked his bike in, we met up with Miners at the expo (*waves*) and checked out the goodies in the expo & the bike porn in the compound. Nice. Very nice.
Sunday
Cheersquad duties on a bloody hot day - the temp was somewhere around 35 degrees! It was lovely to see Cirque & Owen (*waves*) who joined in the fun in the cheersquad with the rest of Team Mango. For once I actually tried to pay attention to what the competitors were doing, particularly in transition, rather than just perving - on the bikes of course ;-)
Despite being unable to run for the last 3 weeks due to a calf injury & riding about 25k without fluids after the aid stations ran out of water (wtf !), R had a great race & finished his first HIM in 5.23, 7mins inside his goal of 5.30. It was wonderful to see him out there looking strong & happy out there - even if he was a bit emo at the finish ;-) Congratulations mahal.
After the race it was back to the apartment (not to mention the air-conditioning) for a relaxing afternoon before Team Mango sat down to a wonderful dinner which may just become our traditional post-'goal race' celebratory dinner - pizza, fresh prawns, beer & wine. Oh, and ice cream :-) A great way to end a fantastic day.
Monday
Does spending the day at Dreamworld count as cross training?
I hope so. After being up at 4am on Sunday, I couldn't drag myself out of bed early enough to get my swim in first. Besides I must have been very close to my MHR on the Giant Drop. Oh. My. Gosh
Rest day today (Tuesday). Flew home on the 6am flight from the GC & went straight to work. Man, business class is even better after 4 hours sleep. Looking forward to getting to bed early tonight before getting up early tomorrow morning for a ride.
Friday
AM - a 50mins hills session on Betty as planned at 4.30am. On the trainer again using a variety of 'grindy' gears for untimed intervals. My knee is a tender & bruised after Wednesday's spill but otherwise ok.
Saturday
No opportunity for a sleep-in I'm afraid. We got up early-ish (well, early for me on a Saturday) and headed for the Southport pool which was less than 10 mins walk from our gorgeous apartment for my long swim. 2k in the beautiful warm Qld sun was a perfect way to start the weekend. The sun was, however, a little too warm. I managed to get a bit burnt despite the fact that we were out in the sun for less than an hour & back at our apartment by 10am. Man, I hate fair skin.
After breakfast & a cruisy morning in our apartment, we headed off to race HQ so R could check his bike in. During the (long, hot) walk from the car to race HQ, I managed to stub my toe - badly - and produced even more blood than came out of my knee last week. While there is no (still) photographic evidence, we did manage to capture the mess on video :-) After we had some lunch & R checked his bike in, we met up with Miners at the expo (*waves*) and checked out the goodies in the expo & the bike porn in the compound. Nice. Very nice.
Sunday
Cheersquad duties on a bloody hot day - the temp was somewhere around 35 degrees! It was lovely to see Cirque & Owen (*waves*) who joined in the fun in the cheersquad with the rest of Team Mango. For once I actually tried to pay attention to what the competitors were doing, particularly in transition, rather than just perving - on the bikes of course ;-)
Despite being unable to run for the last 3 weeks due to a calf injury & riding about 25k without fluids after the aid stations ran out of water (wtf !), R had a great race & finished his first HIM in 5.23, 7mins inside his goal of 5.30. It was wonderful to see him out there looking strong & happy out there - even if he was a bit emo at the finish ;-) Congratulations mahal.
After the race it was back to the apartment (not to mention the air-conditioning) for a relaxing afternoon before Team Mango sat down to a wonderful dinner which may just become our traditional post-'goal race' celebratory dinner - pizza, fresh prawns, beer & wine. Oh, and ice cream :-) A great way to end a fantastic day.
Monday
Does spending the day at Dreamworld count as cross training?
I hope so. After being up at 4am on Sunday, I couldn't drag myself out of bed early enough to get my swim in first. Besides I must have been very close to my MHR on the Giant Drop. Oh. My. Gosh
Rest day today (Tuesday). Flew home on the 6am flight from the GC & went straight to work. Man, business class is even better after 4 hours sleep. Looking forward to getting to bed early tonight before getting up early tomorrow morning for a ride.
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