1....

A very strange week and challenging week. The decreasing training load didn't result in an increase in the amount of time spent relaxing & recovering; rather it simply meant an increase in work. It's been an incredibly stressful week at work. Throw in the fact that I've drunk more coffee than I did water during the week & it's probably an example of how not to taper. C'est la vie...

Mon: I would normally run (early) on Monday morning. But unfortunately the fact that I'm not running doesn't mean I get a sleep-in. Instead I was up at 5.15am to get an hour of study done before work.

Swim squad was probably one of the hardest, and fastest, sessions I have done. B+ took the session which included 3 x 200m with descending swim time each 50m (ie each 50m was faster than the previous one) followed by 10 x 50m sprints (!) - which, I might just mention, I was going off the same time as the fast boys in the pool ! - which was followed up by another 4 x 100m again with descending swim times. Far. Out. Tired shoulders. Felt like I was going to throw up at one stage; gotta love lactic acid. B+ said to me tonight that I need to learn to back myself. Very true. 2.6km

Tue: short but effective strength session in the gym at lunch. I lurve my strength sessions & am looking forward to doing them more often once the race is over - hint, hint coach ;-)

Wed: up early for my longest non-stop swim before my race (2.2km). I felt pretty flat during the first half of the swim thanks to an empty stomach & some fatigue in my arms after the last 2 days of training. Surprisingly, these swims are rarely boring; there are always a few goldfish moments where I momentarily get confused about which lap I am up to which takes me a few laps to sort out (there is a reason I'm a lawyer and not an accountant). Today's swim also included a very brief stop to sort out lane etiquette with a person who joined my lane about half way through the swim.

I finished the 2.2km non-stop (my longest swim ever) in about 44:36 (which actually included an extra 50min in case I got the lap counting wrong & the chat). I'm pretty pleased with that. I certainly felt better in the second half of the swim & was able to maintain my pace. Finished with 200m drills & a 200m cool down so 2.6km in total. It's official - I'm ready :-D

Thu: (*yawn*). Got home from work at 9pm last night & up at 4.20am to get this session done. 40mins bike session on the windtrainer with lots of short, sharp sprints to wake up some fast twitch fibres from wherever they have gone into hiding. 14.2k.

Fri: 45mins pilates with Carly. And more alcohol over lunch than I have had in the last year (which, mind you, isn't that much). My new book 'The New Reverse Taper" will be released by Penguin soon ;-)

Sat: an easy 2.2km swim in the afternoon after a couple of hours of work then a trip into the city to the 2xu store to pick up a tri top for the race that I had previously ordered & lunch with Miss Ellie (*waves*). Swim was principally 2 x 1km easy. Didn't wear a watch so I don't know how long they took. But it's nice to be able to swim 2km so comfortably.

Sun: headed out for a easy 90mins ride about the same time as 80,000 nutters were gathering in the city. An "interesting" ride; the first time this winter I rode into a pea-soup fog this morning which slowed me down & caused me to stop a couple of times as my goggles kept fogging up. I can't say that it was one of those rides where it feels like all your hard work is paying off - quite the opposite in fact. I kept thinking to myself that I surely must have a flat tyre. Flat legs more like it. 34.4km. 1:31. Av. 22.7k/h

I'm not quite sure how I'm feeling about the race at this point in time. Nervous certainly. But probably very distracted by how cr*p this week at work isn't going to be. Suppose I should start thinking about packing at some stage in the next few days....

We are flying out for Rockhampton on Friday. Will post again later in the week...

MTD:
Swim: 7.4km
Bike: 112.2km