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
Saturday, December 25, 2010
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
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