Bling !

What a strange, incredible, stressful, tiring week which ended on such a high!

I actually have done no training in 9 days now. First it was due to my resting HR being a bit high then a crazy week saw me get little sleep & no training. Oh well. The good news for the week is that my foot is definitely improving & the estimate of my return to running has been brought closer :-)

The lack of sleep continued when I got up at 4am on Saturday morning to crew for my team (Happy Feet) in 50km relay at Wild Endurance 100km. We had started out with the goal of the defending the fastest women's team title which team member Helen of Troy won last year. My withdrawal and Rob (vStar) becoming a last minute replacement put an end to that goal. As we had 3 walkers & 3 runners, the goal was simply a sub-24 hour finish. To say that we were shocked with the result was an understatement. It seems we needed to set our goal a tad higher & go for fastest team, not fastest female team.

Our day squad, the daydreamers, did a sensational time of 9 hours for 48ksm, particularly given two members are not runners. Then our evening girls (and runners), the nightingales took off into the night & eventually crossed the line at 2.27am, stopping the clock at an amazing 17.21! Good enough for 2nd relay team home & 3rd place overall (out of 72 teams). We are all still in shock at the result!

Another sensational result was the Wild Women girls defending their win last year in the 100km womens catagory - congratulations ladies!

We bundled the girls into the car & headed for the warmth of the Katoomba YHA to celebrate our fantastic result with (pink) champagne and chocolate mud cake - both of which taste even better at 3am :-) I eventually made it home just before 6am, one tired but happy girl!

I was presented with this sign by the daydreamers to make my place in the team official-


The daydreamers enjoying a cuppa before the start-


The beautiful sunrise in the Megalong valley which quickly warmed the rather chilly mountain air-


The daydreamers ready to go-


Mary, our resident gymnast. I wonder how many teams can do this....


....or this after 50km!


Trailpudd' (L) and Koala1 (R) with Kat - aka Cheetah Girl who was, no doubt, the newest Australian citizen in the race. Cheetah Girl attended her citizenship ceremony in Sydney on Saturday morning before heading up to the race-


Mary with a bunch of the biggest grapes I had ever seen. It's amazing what becomes amusing with a lack of sleep-


Our nightingales crossing the line-


A happy team "Happy Feet"-

Different

Thanks to everyone for your comments - much appreciated :-)

I'm a bit indifferent at the moment in relation to my training. I think its probably obvious that I am a goal-orientated person ;-) so being without a goal is not something that I enjoy. I need to find myself a goal other than one day getting the ok to run again ;-)

My training has also been a bit haphazard this week as a result of a week that was nothing short of an emotional roller coaster for numerous reasons. I haven't trained the last few days as my resting HR has been elevated but until then I did strength + core sessions on Tuesday and Thursday as well as a bike session on Wednesday (45mins @ 60% incl 3 x 4mins @ 80%)

I have a recovery/easy week ahead. Not least because I return to full time employment for the first time in almost 8 months (!) but also because WildEndurance is on next weekend. Although I have had to withdraw from team 'Happy Feet' because of the injury, I will still be heading up there next weekend to crew for the team which should be a good, albeit, tiring weekend. They are hoping to finish the 100k (walking) in sub-24 hours. Fingers crossed!

Be careful what you wish for...

I've held off posting this for a few days because I have been too upset / frustrated / pissed off to mention it. But, briefly, WildEndurance is off as I have peroneal tendinopathy in my right foot as well as a 'hot spot' on the medial side of my right ankle.

My right foot is the one that I badly sprained last year. My physio believes that the tendinopathy is a result of my fall, the insufficient rehab I had before I went o/s and my peroneal working overtime due to the instability in my ankle. The 'hot spot' doesn't look like a stress fracture (which is, of course, good news); rather a bone bruise caused by the impact of my fall. In all, although I can ride, swim, do strength work & walk (only on a flat, even surfaces), I'm not allowed to run for 10-12 weeks. Far. Out.

To say I am disappointed is an understatement. I was really looking forward to focusing on my running once WE was over & really excited about doing C2S for the first time in 4 years. I feel so frustrated right now. Blah, blah, blah.

The moral of the story I guess is this - be careful what you wish for. At the start of the year, another of my goals for the year was to work on my cycling. Looks like I've got my chance now...

Smokin'

Man, I can't believe another week has flown by. Life as a lady of leisure is seriously tough work ;-)

Tue: rest

Wed: 45min ride @ 60% (incl 2 x 6min @ 80%)

Thu: rest

Fri: 50min ride @ 60% (incl 10mins @ 80%)

Sat: strength + core session. A really tough session. Increased the weights on most of my upper body exercises. You know you've done a good weights session when you struggle to lift your arms up to take your t-shirt off :-)

Sun: 2:28 ride with R along the Northern Road from Penrith to Harrington Park (near Narellan) and return (58.94k / av. 23.9k/h / av. 75% MHR). I really enjoyed this ride but really struggled on the outward journey; I just thought that my legs hadn't recovered from Saturday's strength session. Little did I realise how strong the headwind had been until we did a 16min negative split on the return journey! I really focused again on keeping my cadence high; it's becoming more natural so the hard work is starting to pay off :-)

Mon: rest + wedding dress shopping (!) + bone scan today. I'm convinced that I don't have a stressie but will still have the scan done just to be sure...

When my long ride on Monday is thrown into the mix, it's been a huge week for me on the bike. I have never ridden 4 days a week. I'm sure (I hope) it will pay off (eventually).

MTD:
Hike/walk: 38.6k
Bike: 125.5k (long rides only)

The vortex

Well it's been an interesting week. I've been limited to the bike & the gym this week due to my foot - no walking or running for me. I've been a bit blah-ish; nothing drastic. Just the usual injury-induced blahs.

Tue: 45min bike @ 60% MHR

Wed: strength + core session at the gym

Thu: rest

Fri: 30mins bike @ 60% MHR (including 2 x 5mins @ 80%MHR)

Sat/Sun: rest & far too much food

Mon: redeemed myself (and my waistline) today with a 3hr ride on the M7 bike path (66.56k) with R. I really tried to focus on my cadence. My cadence is (always) low; spinning at a higher cadence is really hard work for me. Oh well, I'm a work-in-progress I guess.

MTD:
Hike/walk: 38.6k
Bike: 66.56k (long rides only)

Get that left side going...

I love recovery weeks. Well it actually kicked off last Saturday but I've been enjoying it :-)

Mon: rest

Tue: strength + core session at the gym

Wed: rest

Thu: 47mins walk / run including 5 x 2mins run (90sec). Yippee! My ankle is fine but it was a good reminder about specificity in training. I can walk fast for long distances, climb mountains but running for 2mins is hard work! (5.57k)

Fri: rest

Sat: Recovery week came to an abrupt end today with a recon of stage 3 of WildEndurance; all 33kms of it! Met the girls at the Queen Vic Hospital just before 7.30am for 5:50 of walking, talking, laughing & eating. That worked out at a smokin' pace of 10:36min/km; I don't walk around the block that quickly, never mind on that course-

Pulled up sore & tight afterwards which (for the most part) I actually think is a good thing. I've been focusing alot recently on core strength & glute activation. And I certainly felt more 'stable' through my mid-section throughout the walk so I think parts of my body that haven't worked so well until now (eg my hammys) are actually starting to pull their weight. But, on the other hand, I now have one sore right foot :-(

Sun: (much needed) rest day

Mon: 50mins bike session (including 4 x 5min intervals) + a visit to the physio. He isn't quite sure what is going with my foot but we haven't entirely ruled out a bone scan :-(

So March ended with 85.9km hike/walking + 46.9k riding. Getting ready for WildEndurance will the focus of the coming month which also sees me get back to running (fingers crossed) twice a week - yippee!

MTD:
Hike/walk: 38.6k

I'm excited...

as the late & large Big Kev would have said! As to what, I am not quite in a position to share that. But its a (huge) scary & very exciting change in direction for me :-)

Anyhoo, after the excitement of actually running last Monday (*she chair dances*) the week continued on quietly. March has been a month of alternate rest days to allow my body to recover after the stresses of the last 6 months. So I did a strength + core session on Tuesday, an interval session on the bike on Friday & a 2hr ride (47km) on the M7 yesterday. I also lost another 0.4kg so I'm only 1.2kg now from my goal weight :-)

In other news, thanks to the GFC we have moved the wedding from the Cook Islands :-( to a beautiful property on the Bells Line of Road :-) so the wedding preparations are now in full swing. Right on, I'm on the search for a photographer and a dress and...and...and....

MTD:
Hike/walk: 85.9k
Bike: 46.9k

Operation: Six Foot 201x begins!

Today I kicked off my Six Foot 201x campaign today by going for a run :-) My first run since 17 September last year just before I stuffed my ankle - not that I'm counting ;-P

I headed out for a 60mins walk including 8 x 30-60sec runs. No complaints from my ankle thankfully - yippee!

And in other exciting news, I have just signed up to do the 50k team relay through the Blue Mountains in the Wild Endurance event. I'll be walking it with a group of girls in team "Happy Feet" rather than running but it will be the longest distance I have covered yet so I am excited and a wee bit nervous! The race is a fundraiser for the Wilderness Society so you can donate to team 'Happy Feet' here.

"Perfect structural condition"

I can assure you that in no way does that post title refer to me at the moment - but that is the plan! I've been following an interesting thread on Trannies about preparing for the Hawaii IM (purely out of interest). One guy who recently qualified was asking how, and when, to start preparing for it given that the race isn't until October. Another poster recommended that before the 16 week training program kicks off in June that the next few months are spent doing things that we all often neglect (core / strengthening / daily stretching / good nutrition etc) so that by the time his training program kicks off he will be in a "perfect structural condition", able to add volume without injury. If you have been following my crazy journey for a while you will probably understand why this struck a cord with me. 'Injury' was my middle name until around 18 months ago. However I still do have a lot of weakness which need to be addressed. I have been working on my weaknesses reasonably consistently over the last 18 months but perhaps not as consistently as I should be. And this is a perfect time to me to focus on this before my running volume increases later in the year so that I can add volume without injury. So from here on, its all about working towards achieving a "perfect structural condition".

Anyhoo, enough babbling; on with the training-

Sat: rest day (!) which was spent spectating and cheering at Six Foot. Can. Not. Wait. until next year!

Sun: after getting home around 8pm on Saturday night, I had to be back at Katoomba at 7am on Sunday morning to meet the girls for another long walk. This time it was a recon of stage 1 of WildEndurance. 26.4km in 6:20 which included my first trip up Mt Debert and Taros Ladder ('ladder' being an interesting interpretation of the word), along spectacular Narrowneck, down the Golden Stairs, along the Federal Pass and up the Furber Stairs. Phew. Arrived back at the car to discover a man in a CR hat standing next to it! Turned out to be Melbournians Maggot and Brettsrun who had come up for Six Foot.





Mon: (much needed) rest day

Tue: bike (45mins steady state ride)

Wed: strength & core session in the gym

Thu: rest day

Fri: 3.5 hours of stair repeats, bush bashing, rock scrambling, naked men and chocolate with a fantastic group of Wild Women. I lurve these sessions; I wish I could do them more often. I also wish I had been wearing my HR monitor. Wanting to throw up after 45mins of stair repeats with an 18kg pack was a pretty good indication that I was near my max!

Sat: backed up with another 2:15 and 11.3km hike today around the Glenbrook NP (Gate > Euroka > Tunnel View Lookout > gate) this time with a 14kg pack.

Also dropped another 0.6kg over the last week which has me less than 2kgs away from my goal weight. Nice :-)

MTD:
Walk - 78.98k

A swim with a difference...

After 2 weeks of rest and recovery as per Coach TA's instructions, it has been very nice to get moving again this week :-D

Fri: easy 5.5k walk

Sat: rest & volunteering at the Panthers tri club race in the afternoon. Mango & I were on the swim exit which saw me have not one but two refreshing, yet accidental, falls in the lake. How embarrassing!

Sun: headed up to the Blue Mountains to join a couple of Wild Women on a recon of stage 2 of the Wild Endurance 100k course. After a bit of a car shuffle, we set off from near the skyway in Katoomba and made our way to the old hospital at Wentworth Falls. It was very misty and overcast in the morning but it soon cleared to a fine, clear day. A great day though my glutes were reminding me on Monday that I had done nothing for the last 3 weeks except sit! Finished with 21.7k-


Mon: rest

Tue: easy 5.5km walk

Wed: strength / core session in the gym

Thu: rest

Fri: interval bike session (38mins)

Another rest day tomorrow (Sat) which will be spent spectating at the Six Foot Track marathon. I am really excited that the race is on again but sad that I'm not doing it. Oh well, maybe next year (*she says crossing everything*)

MTD:
Walk - 41.2k

Please sir, I want some more!

Some good news to start this post - on Wednesday I got the ok from my physio to start running again. Yippee! It's been 6 long months since the last time I ran thanks to my little stuff up involving my right ankle. To say that I'm pleased is an understatement :-)

Anyhoo, it's another rest week under instructions from Coach TA so aside from a few short, easy walks, I have no training to report. So I'll just post a few more photos from Aconcagua (that I haven't already put on my other blog) instead!

How to stay protect yourself from the wind, dust & sun-


The walk to camp 2-


My heavy pack & I arrive at camp 2 exhausted-


Bacon & eggs taste even better at 5,000m-


My impersonation of "the fly" having (finally) arrived at base camp after the long walk down from high camp-

Pizza tastes even better after 8 days on the mountain-

The long walk out from base camp-

My birthday tiramisu-


Argentina is famous for its beef and red wine. This is the cow I ate during our last night in Mendoza-

The long & winding road

Surprise, surprise, surprise.

I was surprised recently to find that my blog celebrated its 4th birthday earlier in the month while I was in Argentina. I have never before kept a diary so I struggle to believe that it's been going for so long!

I was reading back over some of the earlier posts recently. In some ways, I feel like I've made bugger all progress in the last 4 years. It sometimes feels like groundhog day. Let's face it, each year I have had a (major) injury that has resulted in me having at least one, and sometimes several, months off running. And then I start all over again - like I am at the moment.

But in other ways, I have come so very far from the person who wrote that initial post. There is no way I could have imagined the things I have done, the places I have been and the people I have met when I started this journey 4 years ago. From Six Foot to mountaineering to rock climbing to mountain biking and triathlons, I have done things that I could never have contemplated. But I think my 'mental' journey has been ever greater. I have learnt so much about myself; I have learnt to challenge my (many) preconceived limitations. I have learnt to say 'I can' rather than 'I can't' which has always been my impulse reaction. I have learnt to let go of my fears - of failing or of what others might think - and just go for something I want. I now truly understand and appreciate that the journey is far more important than the destination.

To quote the Beatles, it's been a long & winding road. And, as frustrating as it has sometimes been, I wouldn't have it any other way.

I'm back (again!)

I'm back (once again), this time from Argentina at the end of my 6 month o/s odyssey :-(

If you have been following the dispatches on the AC website or my other blog, you would be aware that I wasn't able to summit Aconcagua. I turned around about 1.5 hours out of high camp - about 6,280m - on summit day due to a combination of factors. I certainly don't consider not reaching the summit as failure; it was simply a strategic withdrawal. And I consider it a success if only because (as a wise CR once told me) I didn't let fear hold me back from doing something I wanted to do. And besides, I had the most amazing journey along the way.

The big 'A' and me, taken from camp 2 at 5,500m-

This trip had soooo many firsts. First full expedition. First time I've carried loads at altitude - bloody hard work. First time I've spent 48 hours at 6000m. For those who have never been to altitude before, this fact may help to give you some idea of just how hard it is and how hard your body has to work. My resting HR at sea level is 48 BPM. At 6000m, it was 100 BPM! I may have reached a higher altitude in Nepal last year but this was, by far, the hardest thing I have attempted. And probably the achievement I am most proud of.

Camp 3 at 6000m where I spent my 34th birthday-


The view from my turnaround point on summit morning. Camp 3 (at 6000m) can just be seen in the bottom of the photo-


Here's a sekrit. Mountaineering is just an excuse to stuff yourself with junk food 24/7 and still lose weight-


So now I'm back and trying to get my head out of the mountains and back to 'real life'. Mentally, I'm in great shape - I am already thinking about my sporting goals for the rest of the year. Rehabing my ankle and running again (which I haven't done since I stuffed it in September) is my no.1 priority (as is unpacking our new home!). However the fact that I wanted to lay down and sleep to recover from a long, hot shower this morning I think indicates that, physically, I still have some recovery time ahead. Pass the chocolate ;-)

T'was the night before Aconcagua & all through the house...

Jen was creating a big mess!

I am flying out for Mendoza, Argentina tomorrow morning. I really struggle to believe that I have been training for 15 months for this trip, nor that it has been 11 months since I wrote this post.

The training has been rather limited in the last few days. Saturday was a 50mins bike session (intervals) before we headed to Canberra for the night. Sunday was spent resting (and freezing) with my coffee-drinking companion Gnome & a ring in;-) while we watched Coach TigerAngel finish her first Olympic distance tri in Canberra in a great time! Congrats TA! I was supposed to do a couple of easy sessions yesterday & today but developed a touch of a sore throat on Sunday afternoon so I decided to rest. The last thing I need right now is a(nother) cold!

So that's that. The packing is just about finished & the nervous are just about at an all time high! This will be, by far, the hardest thing I have attempted to do to date. We have a 3 day walk to base camp, during which hike we have the assistance of mules to carry our gear. But from base camp, we become the mules! It is an 'unsupported' expedition meaning that we have to carry loads of 20+kg between our camps on the mountain, erect tents, collect water and/or snow for melting, assist with cooking etc. My preparation has not been ideal but 'it is what is is'. There is nothing I can do now other than stay healthy and (perhaps most importantly) stay positive.

If you are interested in following the expedition on a daily basis, the link to the relevant page on the Adventure Consultants website is here. Alternatively you can go to the Adventure Consultants website then select from the column on the left hand side 'Expedition news' > 'Current Expeditions' > Aconcagua 0809. Technology & weather permitting (and with crossed fingers), our guide will be sending daily dispatches from the start of our expedition on January 29. You can also sign up & an email will be sent to you to let you know that a new dispatch has been posted.

I will be updating my other blog once I get to Argentina and then again once the climb is completed & I'm back in civilisation.

See you on the other side (of Aconcagua!)

Paid my dues...

Dropped another 0.6kg since last Friday; that's a total of 2.7kg down in 2 weeks - only 2.3kgs to go now :-)

The training is kinda, sorta just starting to ease off now ahead of my next great adventure which begins on Wednesday-

Tue: 60mins bike session (30sec sprints)

Wed: 60min strength session (lower body)

Thu: 75mins hike w/18kg pack at Glenbrook (6.08km). Hard work but I felt strong walking up & down (and down & up again) the causeway at Glenbrook with the pack. Due to my injury & ill-health over the last few months, my prep for Aconcagua hasn't been ideal. So I've decided to hire a porter to carry my share of the loads (which is likely to be 20+kg) for probably 3 days of the expedition so I don't tire myself out early & blow my shot at the summit. Although this session was short, it was the strongest I think I've ever felt walking back up from the causeway at Glenbrook with a heavy pack - a much needed confidence boost at the moment!

Fri: 50mins strength session (upper body)

Time to get back to the packing. Still trying to work out how on earth to get 25kg+ of gear & equipment to Argentina without getting hit with excess baggage charges...

T-9...

2.1kg down, 2.9kg to go! I know that it isn't all fat & that it won't continue, but it was a very nice surprise when I got on the scales on Friday morning.

My training over the last week has been fantastic - I am loving being a full time athlete at the moment :-)

Tue: 60mins bike (intervals)
Wed: 60mins strength session (full body)
Thu: 2 hrs cross training (concrete painting), a physio visit + 90mins hike w/16kg pack (6.88km) at Glenbrook at 5pm - very hard work given it got to 42 degrees out here (and a far change from the -42 I was experiencing early last week!)
Fri: 60mins strength session (upper body)
Sat: 80mins bike (intervals)
Sun: rest (phew!)
Mon: 2hr ride with TigerAngel on the M7 bike path - 47kms - av. 23.5k/h

My physio visit last Thursday regarding my ankle was promising. He is pretty sure that I haven't damaged any cartilage (yah!) so there is no need for an MRI at the moment. We'll see how it settles once I'm back from Argentina & (try to) start running again.

The mental fine tuning for Aconcagua continues. I've been reading & watching everything I can find about Aconcagua on the Internet (thanks YouTube). I am just about eating, sleeping & dreaming it at the moment. Getting very nervous. And a tad excited :-)

9 sleeps to go!

Edit: BTW if anyone is interested, I've started putting (more) holiday snaps on my other blog.

I'm baaaack !

I arrived back in Sydney last Thursday after 3 months o/s. I had the most amazing time. If you haven't been following my travels on my other blog, in brief I've:

- climbed Mera Peak (6460m)

(Everest is the large peak to my left)

and Island Peak (6189m)

in Nepal;

- ice climbed for the first time (and loved it!)

- spent 3 weeks travelling through Egypt


and Jordan


- seen the Red Sea (I was too sick to go in), snorkled in the Indian Ocean and floated in the Dead Sea


- climbed Mt Meru (4556m)


and Kilimanjaro (5895m)

in Tanzania,

- been on safari in Africa,

- experienced my first white Christmas, my first hockey game (that's ice hockey for those who don't speak Canadian) and experienced what -47 degrees feels like,


- gained 5kg in weight (yikes!),

amongst many other things.

The fun isn't over yet. In just over 2 weeks, I fly out again to Argentina to climb Aconcagua; at 6,962m it is the highest mountain in the world outside the Himalayas. I am really nervous about this one. It will be, by far, the hardest thing I've attempted; not only due to the altitude but that it is a full expedition meaning that I have to carry loads of around 20kg-25kg which is hard at the best of times, never mind doing so at altitude.....

Unfortunately my training between treks was almost non-existant due to 2 colds/chest infections, one which required 2 courses of anti-biotics to kick so I am feeling decidedly underdone. But with only 2 & a bit weeks left, it's time to do some finetuning physically and (perhaps most importantly) mentally. Since arriving back on Thursday, I've been easing back into the training -

Fri: 2 hours hike at Glenbrook w/13.5kg pack (9.27km)

Sat: 45mins weights session (full body) + 45mins stepper interval session. Very tough session!

Sun: rest

Mon: 3.12 ride on M7 with TA - 67.45km - av.21k/h. My first time on the bike in almost 4 months! Was great to catch up with you, TA. Thanks!

After Aconcagua, my 2 main priorities are losing the 5kg I put on while I was o/s (*she blushes*) and to rehab my ankle & get running again. I haven't run since I stuffed my ankle back in September. It is ok (but not great) for the purposes of my hiking/trekking but it is far from 100%. But I'm not thinking about that right now. It's time to get my head & body ready for the next - and freaking high -adventure :-)

Namaste !

Greetings from Kathmandu !

Life has been so busy this week that I didn't have an opportunity to update before leaving. We (my folks, R & I) spent Sunday & Monday night at a fantastic self-contained cottage in Megalong Valley. The fact that the Six Foot Track passed through the property was a mere co-incidence ;-) I had planned to do a long run on the Track - needless to say that didn't happen - so I spent a very relaxing 48 hours with my foot up taking in the view-





Given that my foot looked like this at the time, it goes without saying that my feet needed all the TLC it could get-





Two physio visits and an incredibly painful hour spent in the (Easy) Tiger's liar has resulted in a big improvement in my ankle since those photos were taken on Monday. Although still swollen & tender, the bruising has faded and the range of motion continues to improve.

I flew out of Sydney on Thursday night and arrived here in crazy, polluted & wonderful Kathmandu on Friday afternoon. I have a few days of R & R before we fly for Lukla & start trekking on Tuesday. So now that my travels have resumed, it's back to my other blog for the time being. This one will remain my training diary which, this week has been-

Sun - 1 hour on the bike
Mon - rest
Tue - rest
Wed - upper body strength at the gym
Thu - 40mins on the bike
Fri - rest
Sat - 40mins on the bike.

I also have a stack of strength & stretching exercises to do for my ankle on a daily basis and I am continuing to ice it. I'm sure that housekeeping at the hotel thinks I'm weird, or an alcoholic, due to the number of times I've asked for an ice bucket so far!

Roll on my next grand adventure !

Purple is the new black

Here ya go Tesso - it's a bit more purple than blue right now...

Stuffed...

Thanks for the link Will - very helpful!

I’m feeling really tired right now from a lack of sleep over the last two days. Icing every 2-3 hours is starting to take its toll - getting up at 3am to ice is not much fun.

Update on the ankle is the bruise has now come out nicely. My foot is various shades of blue – and not only when I take it out of the ice. The swelling hasn’t started to go down yet but it isn’t looking as red (presumably from inflammation) that it has in the last few days. I saw the physio yesterday – it is a high grade 2 sprain; a particularly bad partial tear. The physio suspects I am probably as close to a complete tear as you can get without completely tearing it! You know me – I like to do things well :-)

On the bright side, this means I have very little pain – just a foot the size of a brick. I started on range of motion exercises this morning which I need to do 3 times a day. I was allowed to get back on the bike (at least on the trainer) today - yippee! The physio wanted to put me in an air cast – basically a solid plastic ‘cast’ held on by velcro – for 3 weeks (!) but fortunately or unfortunately (I'm not sure which) it won’t fit inside my trekking boots. So I’ve gone with a softer ankle support. Combined with my trekking boots which are a full leather, rigid boot, it should provide me with plenty of support & protection. He did warn me that it is going to be uncomfortable; I’m just going to need to suck it up & do my exercises so that I don’t have long term problems with it. What’s an adventure without a bit of last minute drama eh?

So the training this week has been -

Mon – rest
Tue – easy 45mins run - 6.99k - 6:26m/k - 145BPM
Wed – 45mins hike w/16.5k pack + 1 x sprained ankle
Thu – rest
Fri – easy 40mins on the bike

I’ll have another rest tomorrow (Sat) before a longer session on the trainer on Sunday morning before heading up the mountains for a couple of nights away. Oh, and I guess I should start packing.....

Houston, we have a (small) problem....

Well, it's not really a small problem. A rather big one actually....



Yes, that is my right foot - and yes, I do have an ankle bone under there - somewhere.

I didn't have a particularly good morning today. Rolled my ankle while walking down a step on a bush trail today. I ended up on the ground on my back in the 'turtle position' - thanks to a 16.5kg pack - thinking that I had just broken my ankle. My life didn't flash before my eyes but my holiday did. Anyway, I picked myself up, hobbled for 20mins back to the car & prompted burst into tears while on the phone to TigerAngel. I have never rolled an ankle before (touch wood) so it's quite a novelty really. I've spent the rest of the day on my butt, either on the couch watching cr*p daytime tv with my foot elevated or in the bathroom with my foot in a bucket of icy water. Nice.

It could be worse I suppose. Thankfully I didn't brake it. But I've got a heck of a lot of work to do to get the swelling down before I get on the plane to Nepal in 8 sleeps time....

RNP weekend

Spent the weekend walking the track from Otford to Bundeena with a group of girls from WWoT. I'm really pleased with my recovery from Kokoda. Although the pace was a bit more sedate than what I'm used to, the heat and 18kg pack more than made up for it. Fantastic weekend filled with lots of laughter, gourmet food & spectacular views!

Figure 8 pool


So-called Eagle Rock. Looks more like a turtle if you ask me...



Looking forward to getting back into the training this week - and returning to one of my favourite places in the Blue Mountains next weekend.... :-D

MTD:
Hike – 157k
Run – 4.55k

Ladies who lunch

[*rant mode on*]

Right. I’ve just gotta get this off my chest. I didn’t think much of the race along the Kokoda Trail before going to PNG. I think even less of it now. The Trail is sacred land IMHO. Doing the race for the sake of doing a race – without learning the history of the Trail and the battles fought on it – just feels like sacrilege. Imagine the uproar if someone proposed a race up & down the beach head at Gallipoli…..

[*rant mode off*]

Phew. I must admit that I am quite enjoying this ‘not working’ thing :-) I have caught up with two friends for lunch this week. I’ve slept in. I’ve read. I've (finally) written about Kokoda (see the other blog) & generally organised ‘stuff’ ahead of my 3 month stint o/s.

I made it through Kokoda with no injuries, niggles, blisters or foot rot. So training this week has been firmly in the ‘recovery’ mode; easy sessions with a rest day on alternate days.

Sat – rest.
Sun – 45mins walk around Killalea State Forest south of Shellharbour in the rain that I didn’t get on Kokoda (4.51k).
Mon – rest
Tue – easy 30mins run. HR was not particularly elevated & the pace was (surprisingly) reasonable but my legs still felt I was walking through mud – 4.55k – av. 6:37m/k – av. 140BPM
Wed – rest
Thu – 35mins bike session including 5 x 2min firm
Fri – rest

The early starts begin again tomorrow when I need to be at Cronulla just after 6.30am to meet the girls from WWoT for a overnighter along the track from Otford to Bundeena. With an 18kg pack, I suspect I’m going to find out very quickly whether (or not) my legs have recovered ;-)

MTD:
Hike – 130k (w/15kg pack)
Run – 4.55k

The muddy bloody track

Thanks to everyone for their emails & comments - much appreciated!
Well I made it back to Port Moresby this afternoon after finishing the Kokoda Track this morning :-) It has, quite simply, been the most amazing, uplifting, inspiring & humbling experience of my life - easily the hardest physical, mental & emotional challenge of my life. But all the mud, sweat& tears was certainly worth it.

I get back to Sydney tomorrow afternoon. I will try & string a couple of posts together (yes, with photos) about my adventure over the coming week. But I fear - I know - that there are no words that will do justice to it nor come even close to explaining how this country, its people and the bloody track have touched my heart. But I'll try :-)

Apinun from Port Moresby

Well I've made it safe & sound. Just a quick blog update - actually Lorna is posting this for me as 'blogspot' is blocked here at the business centre in our hotel. And we have been told not to leave the hotel compound so I stuck with that, and the (high) prices they charge!

It's been a long day so far - the alarm went off at 2.45am this morning. I had been warned to be at check-in a full 3 hours before our 7.30am flight as Air Nuigini is renowned for overbooking its flights - so that a paid ticket is actually no guarantee of a seat! You can imagine my amusement when my folks & I arrived at the airport at 4:30am to discover that I was the first to check-in. I had to laugh when I finally got on the plane to discover it was half full! Thankfully I'm running on adrenaline and nervous energy right now ;-)

The weather in Port Moresby is slightly overcast & a balmy 33 degrees. Nice weather to lay by the pool - which I'm about to do - not so nice to be climbing mountains I suspect. But then again, the weather is just about the only thing I can't control so I'm not going to let it phase me. I'm still feeling rather nervous but I must admit to looking around our group at the airport on arrival in Port Moresby & thinking to myself 'man, I've got to be fitter than him' :-) Of course, I am carrying my own pack and most of the others aren't - so perhaps it's a bit too early to make that kind of call!

Must go. The pool awaits before a group briefing at 5pm, then dinner and an early night. Who am I kidding? I'll be up late packing, and re-packing, and re-packing my bag. Especially after our group leader asked me at the airport how much weight I was going to carry - and then raised an eyebrow when I said 12kgs.... (*gulp*)

Back in Port Moresby next Thursday afternoon / evening. As the late great Big Kev would have said - I'm excited :-)

T-1....

After a great night at our tri club's presentation dinner last night, I did an easy 30min run this morning (4.52k - av.6:40m/k) to round out my taper. I'm feeling rather fat, unfit & tired as I always do at the end of a taper week. Guess that means that I'm ready :-)

MTD:
Bike - 51.41k
Run - 38.6k
Hike - 47.85k

T-4...

Last day at work tomorrow - yippee :-) Which reminds me - if you have my work email address or mobile phone number, delete it!

It's been a weird week. I returned to the office on Monday after the mountaineering course feeling like I had been away from it for a month; there really is something to be said for having a holiday or break that is so far removed from everyday life. My head is now well & truly in 'holiday-land'. My butterflies about the difficulty of Kokoda are not yet in formation - I realise that I had a really good, solid prep & that I am confident that I did all that I could have. But of course this isn't always enough to settle those usual last minute I-haven't-done-enough-training panic attacks.

Tuesday
AM - easy 45mins run - 6.25k - av. 6:55m/k
I ran only on PE as my HR monitor - and the rest of my mountaineering gear - remained unpacked in a big pile on the floor in the rumpus room. T'was slow going but that's ok.

Wednesday
AM - 35mins ride incl 5 x 2min efforts
While still watching the climb up the Col de la Croix de Fer during this year's TdF. Next year's race could be on by the time I get to watch the end of this stage....

Thursday
AM - easy 35mins run - 5.33k - 6:35m/k - 141BPM
My last 4-something AM training session for 6 months! Woohoo!! Alas, it's not the last time I see 4-something AM - I need to be at the airport on Monday morning by 4:30am! No strength session again (argh!) due to a farewell lunch & too many others things to do.

Now for my trip, I have decided to start a separate blog to document my travels. I figured that my family and non-running friends won't be particularly interested in my training. I have no idea why - personally I think its fascinating ;-) I will certainly keep - and continue to use - this one as a record of my training over the next few months. But if you are interested in my travels, my travel-blog is here. Just don't bother checking it at the moment - I haven't got around to posting anything yet - but will over the weekend!

MTD:
Bike - 51.41k
Run - 34.08k
Hike - 47.85k

T-7...

This time next week I will be in PNG. The fact that my grand adventure has arrived has suddenly dawned on me; I'm feeling rather nervous about Kokoda right now. Hopefully the butterflies will be flying in formation by next Monday....

Now, as for the updates - let's see, where was I...

Sat 16/8 - R's birthday (happy birthday mahal!) - everyone headed to the snow. Me? I stayed in bed & had a nice long sleep-in at our apartment in Jindy before a rather slow 50mins run along the shore of Lake Jindy. The pace was incredibly slow - I choose to blame the altitude ;-) Finished with 7.22k - av. 6:55m/k - av. 143BPM. Afterwards a visit to the bakery for breakfast & coffee, I spent the rest of the day reading the paper, watching the Olympics & taking in the view from our apartment -



Nice :-)

Sun 17/8 - rest. Spent the day at Blue Cow reading & drinking hot choc :-)

Mon 18/8 - Fri 22/8 - 5 day mountaineering course. Wow! What an incredible, exciting week!

Met up with my team for the week at Jindy at 8am on Monday morning and, after getting organised, we travelled by mini-bus, snow-cat & then finally on snowshoes to our camp somewhere between Charlottes Pass & Blue Lake.




I had a fantastic time, ate lots of chocolate (the sekrit to keeping warm at -10!) & learnt soooo much during the course of the week - I learnt how to show-shoe, tie all manner of knots, build snow caves, use crampons, build ice anchors & stop myself sliding off the side of a mountain by using an ice axe. The week culminated in a multi-pitch climb up a snow slope adjacent to camp.



Yes, that's me - on the right ;-)

Unfortunately due to the weather, we were only able to make the 7k return trip to Blue Lake on
snow-shoes once.



Despite the obvious reminder of last Sunday's tragic event, it was a beautiful place to train. I rounded out the week by carrying my pack (weighing around 15kg) and pulling a sled (weighing around 10kg) up 3/4 of the slope from the Snowy River to the top of one of the ski runs behind Charlottes Pass and then down the other side to the chateau - now that was bloody hard work! A truly fantastic week - can't wait to put some of my new knowledge to good use; not to mention head back next year for some ice climbing :-D :-D

Sat 23/8 - I was due to have a rest day but a christening in Canberra on Sunday meant that I had to swap my long sessions around. To allow for the fact that I was still tired from the mountaineering course, I dropped the pack weight back to about 16kg and did a 4:20 hike,
'summiting' Mt Majura twice & Mt Ainslie once. Finished with 19.09k. Surprisingly I felt reasonably strong although a bit tired & hungry by the time I finished. Afterwards, I cleaned myself up & headed to the War Memorial for a quick lunch in the café before spending a couple of hours looking at everything I could find related to Kokoda. All I can say is that I'm going to be a serious sap the whole way along the Owen Stanley Ranges I suspect.... As my head & thoughts have been in the mountains so much lately, it was also a good way to end my last real training session & to start getting my head in the right 'head space' for Kokoda. As all the hard work is now done, that is the only thing I can still do...

Sun 24/8 & Mon 24/8 - rest days & start of taper week :-)

MTD:
Bike - 51.41k
Run - 22.5k
Hike - 47.85k

New season footwear

It seems yellow is the colour for the (my) upcoming season. I'd put my feet up & take a photo of them a la Runner Susan but they are too freak'n heavy!



Monday - rest day. Much needed. Tired & sore after Sunday's hike.

Tuesday - unplanned rest day. Was supposed to run but canned it after a cr*p nights sleep. Grrrrrrrrr.

Wednesday - 45min ride including 2 x 10mins AT while (still) watching this year's TdF climb the Col de la Croix de Fer. Good session; felt really strong :-) In the evening after a work function, I went to a great presentation by Andrew Lock on his successful ascent of Makalu, the 5th highest mountain in the world. Cool :-)

Thursday - easy 40mins run (6.09k - av. 6:35m/k - av. 144BPM) on an icy morning in Penriff. I was supposed to do a strength session as well but couldn't escape from the office. Grrrrrrr. So much for my last week of 'heavy' training.

I have a big 10 days ahead. After a half day in the office tomorrow, I am heading down to Jindabyne for the weekend in the snow with various members of the Mango-clan. Then next week I am doing a 5 day mountaineering course. Really looking forward to it after getting some great feedback from another WWoT member who attended it last week. We are camping above the snow line somewhere near Charlottes Pass I think so the weather might be a tad fresh ;-) And then (after a weekend in Canberra for a family function) it's back home for my last week at work. It's almost here - can't believe it - yippeeeeeeeeeee :-D :-D :-D

MTD:
Bike - 51.41k
Run - 15.28k
Hike - 28.76k

I've fallen & I can't get up...

Another weekend gone; only 3 weeks tomorrow (Monday) til Kokoda.

My recovery week came to an end yesterday (Sat) with an easy 30min run around the hood after a bit of a sleep-in. Finished with 4.71k - av. 6:24m/k - av144BPM. I spent the rest of the day running around the house like a madwoman cleaning my trekking poles & boots (which were a mess after the mudathlon in Canberra a few weeks ago) and packing, unpacking & repacking for Kokoda and the mountaineering course. The Kokoda pack is down to 11.4kg now; my mountaineering pack still needs some work...

Today it was off to the magnificent Perrys Lookdown & Blue Gum forest for my 5.5hr hike today with a 20kg pack (18.84k). There was an icy wind & a nice light dusting of snow on the ground as I drove into Blackheath at 7.30am; I have to admit that I was asking myself why I hadn't taken up an easier - and warmer - sport. Still bad weather is, if nothing else, a good opportunity to test out my gear & the wind, rain and snow (yes, I got 'snowed' on!) certainly did that.

The gate was locked so I had a 3k walk in the cold wind to the lookout(down). Thankfully the trail down the escarpment & the forest were both largely protected from the wind. I had a bit of tumble in the forest when a stick jumped up & bit me ;-) It was a good reminder that the weight of my pack means that it sometimes has a mind of its own. I landed in a nice lush patch of grass where I did my best impersonation of a turtle on its back unable to move. Thankfully no-one was around to see it. Had to undo & take off my pack in order to get back up again.

A beef & guinness pie, large coffee and chocolate cake afterwards in Blackheath rounded out my day nicely :-)

MTD:

Bike - 51.41k

Run - 9.19k

Hike - 28.76k

15...

21 sleeps to go until I finish up at work, Bro :-D :-D

What a weird week it's been.

Friday - rest day.
Developed a 4 hour stomach bug on the way to work. Arrived at work, was sick & then turned around & headed for home. Given it's a 3 hours return trip, it was rather annoying. Slept 3 hours on Friday afternoon, another 9 hours on Friday night & woke up fine on Saturday.

Saturday
AM - 2:10 ride on the M7 bike path - 51.41k - av. 23.7k/h - av. 131BPM
Strangely after being sick on Friday, this was perhaps my best /strongest ride to date! Our average pace was 24k/h (a first!) until we turned off the M7 for the 2km c/d ride home. I also managed to stand the whole way up both of the big hills heading north near Elizabeth Drive; I've never had the strength / endurance / cardio fitness to do that before. Nice :-)

The day ended with R, Rags and myself attending the WWoT masked ice ball in Manly. A fantastic night of great food, alcohol & rope games ;-) to raise funds for the WWoT Seven Summits Team and the Fred Hollows Foundation. I managed to win two prizes in the silent auction - a gorgeous photo taken from Mt Elbrus in Russia (one of the Seven Summits & perhaps my next one after Aconcag) as well as a fantastic photo of Everest taken and signed by Lincoln Hall. However I think the highlight of the night was watching Rags being dragged, by his tie, onto the dance floor by a blond Amazon :-D

Sunday
PM - 2:27 hike w/14kg pack - 9.92k - av. 109BPM
After Friday's illness and a bit of a sniffle on Saturday, I decided to start my recovery week a day early & so cut this session back to 2.5 hours & reduced my pack weight to 14kg. Fully fuelled thanks to pancakes at Chez-Rags & lolly bags courtesy of Mouse & the kids, R & I headed for Glenbrook to walk up to the Red Hands Cave. I was a bit over the idea of walking & a bit tired but the company was nice :-)

Monday - rest day - 4 weeks to Kokoda!

Tuesday
AM - easy 30min spin

Wednesday - rest day

Thursday
An easy 30mins run at 4.30am [4.48k - av. 6:43m/k - av. 143BPM] and a 60mins strength session later in the day. Man I lurve weight training :-) Very excited to realise this morning that I only 2 more weeks of pre-5am training starts to go before I am a lady of leisure for 6 whole months :-)

Thanks to Ellie & Vurt for your hospitality last night (*waves*)

Friday - rest day - 3 weeks left at work! Bring on the Olympics - what is not to love about the Olympics - sport, sport & more sport :-D

MTD:
Bike - 51.41k
Run - 4.48k
Hike - 9.92k

Hills, coffee, food, mud & more hills !

I am one tired gal today after a big weekend in Canberra followed by an incredibly busy week - lots of late nights & early morning. Apologies in advance for the length...

Saturday - Bush Capital marathon festival 10k - 58:27 - av. 5:51m/k - av. 170BPM :-D :-D

The Mini Mango & I lined up at the 10k at the Bush Capital marathon festival at the absolutely decadent - although somewhat inconvenient - time of 1pm which meant I could have a (much needed) sleep-in. I had decided to treat it as a temp run so paid no attention to the HR & ran simply based on feel. Given that I don't even run hills in training (I walk once my HR has spiked) I expected to finish around 65mins. I revised my estimate to 70min after being forced to walk at the 812m mark (!).

I hit the 4km mark at 24min & realised that a sub-60mins was possible. So I concentrated on my pace, easing back slightly on the uphills to prevent a blow-up & pushing the flat and (in particular) downhills. I also had two 'rabbit's in my sights; one, a man who I had overtaken earlier in the race & who later overtook me going up one of the hills and the Mini Mango who I was determined to keep in my sights.

I hit the turnaround at 30:29 and knew that I only really had 3km to hold it together as the last 2km were largely downhill. I managed to hold it together, keep Mini Mango in my sights (just) and beat the male rabbit with a final surge to the finish line.



Finished in 58:27 - my first official sub-60km 10k. On that course and given the limited running I've been doing in recent months - and zero hill work - I am absolutely ecstatic with that result.



Was great to catch up with Strewth, CJ & Aki's later in the afternoon. Shame Ewen couldn't join us - BTW I didn't know you were an ABBA fan Ewen ;-)

Sunday - 5hr hike w/ 20kg pack - 20.17kms - av. 134BPM

Funnily I had commented to R on the drive to Canberra on Friday night that short of emptying the contents of Warragamba Dam on a firetrail somewhere, it would be very difficult (in the current - dry - winter) to replicate, and get used to, the muddy conditions that I will experience in PNG. Let's just say I spoke too soon!

Being in Canberra meant that I could head up to the Brindabellas for my hike this week. When I left the car to start this session, the temp gauge read -1; it was only 6.5 degrees when I got back to the car at 1pm. Perfect Canberra winter weather ;-)

After getting up to watch Cadel's TT, I was pretty tired to start with so it was the first 3hrs were a real struggle. This walk had everything - lots of mud (!), rain, fog, sleet, snow/ice on the ground at the top of Mt Coree, sunshine & cold wind. Got back to Ma & Pa Mango's place & after a quick shower, sat down to a huge lunch courtesy of Ma Mango. A nap followed by a coffee with a double shot in the car on the way home & I was almost feeling human again.



Monday - rest

Tuesday - easy 30mins run - 4.4k
Lower legs were v. beaten up after I barrelled down Mt Coree with my pack on my back on Sunday. So I swapped my sessions around & did a very easy 30mins paying no attention to pace or HR. Thanks to Mouse & NTR (*waves*) for dinner - it was great to catch up with you guys again - and thanks for the lolly bags :-)

Wednesday - 50mins bike session
Included 4 x 3mins in a grindy gear / low cadence with 2mins spin recovery while watching Stage 17 of the TdF. Followed up with a beating up at the hands of Easy Tiger. While being fully carb loaded after dinner last night ;-) insufficient rest / sleep over the last few days was catching up.

Thursday - 35mins run - 5.72k - av. 6:23m/k - av. 148BPM.
Did Tuesday's session. 15mins with a 15sec surge every minute, with a 10min w/u & c/d. Fun but tough session on probably the coldest morning so far this winter.

No strength session today; instead I went back to the physio this afternoon for a bit more work on the tendonosis in my right glute. I must admit to feeling pretty beaten up right now; everything is a bit tight so I need to pay particular attention to my stretches & core / glute work over the next few days. Bring on the recovery week :-)

So at month's end, I have had another great month of training. It was slightly interrupted by the blisters I got during the TW session but fortunately they healed very quickly. Highlight of the month was my run at the Bush Capital 10k - did I mention that I was really pleased, and surprised, by it? ;-)

Jan: S - 8.65k + B - 71.32k + R - 26.6k
Feb: S - 10.9k + B - 114k + R - 49.2k
Mar: S - 8.75k + B - 101.88k + R - 68.19k
Apr: S - 0 + B - 1.3k + R - 50.1k + H - 45.4k
May: S - 0 + B - 0 + R - 25.75k + H - 28.83k
Jun: S - 0 + B - 56.97k + R - 35.4k + H - 72.59
Jul: S - 1.4k + B - 43.41k + R - 57.92k + H - 72.19k

HTFU

Bubble & squeak

Monday
Rest

Tuesday
PM - 1.4k swim
Was supposed to run but couldn't due to my blisters so I headed to the pool instead. If there is one thing I love about being a multi-sport athlete (ok, there are several!), it is that there is always something to fall back on if I can't get a particular session done for one reason or another :-)

10 x 100m with a 25m effort in each with 200m p/b w/u & c/d. Nice to be back in the water again :-)

Wednesday
AM - 40mins ride incl 20mins at AT
Tough but good :-)

Thursday
AM - easy 20mins run - 3.02k - av. 6:42m/k - av. 137BPM
An easy short run on a chilly & wet morning for the sole purpose of testing out the taping on my heels to make sure that they will be ok for the race on Saturday. I think it will be ok (bloody hope so). It occurred to me this morning that I may need to rethink my HR strategy. So far when I've spiked my HR on a hill, I've stopped to walk to get it back down. But should I walk or rather slow my pace as much as possible? Presumably as I become more efficient working at 80%, I'll be able to run further up the hill before spiking my HR (and walking). But in the meantime walking up the hills isn't actually going to increase my efficiency so maybe I should be running them, albeit slowly, instead and just keep the average for the session at 80%. Any thoughts ?

AM - 60mins strength session mid-morning.
Again reasonably light weights so that I don't trash myself ahead of Saturday's race -
- 5mins w/u bike
- 20 x step ups / knee lift on bench (fast)
- 10 x step ups + 10 x step ups with knee lift with 10kg
- DB bent-over row on upturned bosu x 20
- lunge + step up onto bosu x 20
- [1 x push up + 2 x single arm row] x 20
- 20 x squats with DB shoulder press
- 25 x oblique twisty things with medicine ball
- 50 x crunches
- 10 x alt arm / leg
- lunge + step up onto bosu x 20
- DB bent-over row on upturned bosu x 20
- 20 x squats with DB shoulder press
- stretching
(and something else I can't remember right now).

Off to Canberra after work tomorrow (Friday) night for the Bush Capital 10k on Saturday - which I am planning to treat as a tempo run - followed by 5 long hours with my pack in the Brindabellas on Sunday.

MTD:
Run - 37.8k
Hike - 52.02k
Bike - 43.41k
Swim - 1.4k, LOL.

I can't get no....

But for a lecture I once got from 2P about the importance of language, I would have said that I was disappointed with my training this weekend. So instead I will say that I wasn't satisfied with it for a number of reasons, not least because I didn't look after my feet & have developed two massive blisters which not only disrupted today's training but may disrupt my training for the rest of the week. Not happy Jan.

Saturday
AM - Trailwalker training - 36.48k - 6:49
For a change I joined WWoT's Trailwalker training session (yah, no pack!). Met the girls at Gordon at 6am to catch the train to Berowa. The plan was to do 52.5k between Berowa (CP2) and Davidson Park (CP7). The pace was fast & furious from the start; there is no "dilly dallying"with these girls. My average HR for the session was 75%! After so much long, heavy & slow walking lately, it took my legs awhile to work out what to do. Unfortunately I soon developed a couple of hot spots which I didn't treat properly so they quickly became massive blisters - something I never get. Grrrrr. So I pulled the pin half way between CP 5 and CP6. I was unsatisfied because I had mentally prepared to do the full 52k and, apart from the blisters, physically I was feeling really good & strong. Of course, taking the glass-half-full view, 35k at a fast pace is still a good training session & it was a great lesson / reminder about the importance of foot care, particularly for Kokoda.

Sunday
AM - 2hr ride - 43.41k - 21.1k/h - av. 113BPM (!)
Another unsatisfying session. I was due to do a 3hr hike with 20kg pack but the blisters prevented that. Coach TA suggested a ride if I needed to do something (she knows me too well!). The Mini Mango joined R & I for the first 1:10 so while the company was fun, the pace was v. slow & despite having the bike in the biggest chain rings (front & back), I don't think I really achieved much. I was however able to push the pace in the last 50mins & had a lovely chat to NTR & Mouse about 5mins from home (*waves*).

6 weeks tomorrow until I fly out for Kokoda. Getting really nervous about it now....

MTD:
Run - 34.78k
Hike - 52.02k
Bike - 43.41k

It's not jaune; it's Aussie gold my friend !

Sorry. Tragic I know but I couldn't resist :-)

Dave, I've read Fitzy's book. Now I'm onto Bone Man of Kokoda which will be followed by Those Ragged Bloody Heroes by Peter Brune. And Bro - there is no such thing as Sagarmatha overload ;-)

Monday - rest

Tuesday
AM - 40 mins run - 6.66k

My first ever Mona fartlek session (!) with a 10min w/u & c/d.

The session was good - round & round a damp & (at one end) foggy oval with R who played 'rabbit' & made my chase him on the efforts. Having done v. little interval / speed work, I have lots to learn about pacing myself during efforts such as this. Still, I hit a new max HR (she says never having done a max HR test) of 180 and didn't have to walk any of the recoveries (despite wanting to) so I probably got reasonably close to the mark. Covered 3.58k & averaged 5:40m/k for the 20mins, woohoo!

Wednesday
AM - 46mins ride
Was supposed to include 4 x 5min @ AT but to be honest, I didn't quite get to AT - I just didn't work hard enough. For no particular reason. Gawd knows what I was thinking. Very annoyed with myself afterwards - while its better than nothing, it seemed pointless to me to drag my tired arse out of bed at 4.30 in the morning to do a session that didn't meet its objective. Grrr.

Thursday
AM - 40mins run - 6.07k - av. 6:38m/k - 142BPM
Kept yesterday's lesson in mind today and made sure I stuck to the plan - which was to run at 80% (147). Weird session - took a long time to get my HR to above 140 and then it kept spiking over 150 in the last 15mins. A serious positive split today - I suspect it is due to going a bit too hard in the first half to get the HR up as well as tiredness & stress due to a feral week at work.

AM - mid morning I headed to the gym for a 55mins strength session. Used reasonably light weights as I didn't want to fry myself before Saturday -
- warm up of 5min bike and 20 x step up + knee lift onto a bench
- step up with 10kg plate x 25
- DB bent over row on upturned bosu x 20
- [1 x squat + 5 x tricep extensions with medicine ball] x 10
- [1 push up + 2 x single arm DB row] x 20
- lunge / step / knee lift thingy onto a bosu x 20
- 50 x crunches
- DB bent over row on upturned bosu x 20
- [1 x squat + 5 x tricep extensions with medicine ball] x 10
- [1 push up + 2 x single arm DB row] x 20
- single leg deadlift with DB x 15
- stretching.

Rest day tomorrow (and some extra sleep) before a big weekend of training...

MTD:
Run - 34.78k
Hike - 15.54k

Recovery rocks :-)

I only started having recovery weeks when I started training with TA in about September last year - which is, no doubt, one of the reasons why I was injured so often. At the time, I hated recovery weeks; I thought that they were a waste of perfectly good training time. But now, as much as I love training hard, I have come to lurve my recovery weeks. Hauling a pack for hours on end each weekend probably has something to do with it! This recovery week was a bit easier than normal thanks to TA giving me the weekend off as we were going away :-)

Monday - rest

Tuesday - easy 30mins run - 4.37k - av. 6:53m/k - av. 141BPM
Woohoo! First time that I've averaged under 7min/k pace since the HR experiment began. Bring on the sub 6:30's :-D

Wednesday - rest

Thursday - 60mins strength session on my lonesome at the gym at lunch. No morning run due to a breakfast function at work.

Friday - easy 30mins spin

Saturday - rest

Sunday - easy 40mins run - 6.27k - av. 6:41m/k - av146BPM
Decided to make up for Thursday's missed run - not to mention work off some of the food I consumed on Saturday. Great run on a beautiful still morning. Nice :-)

Spending an indulgent weekend at the Crowne Plaza in the Hunter Valley eating & drinking lots rounded out the week nicely :-D

MTD:
Run - 22.05k
Hike - 15.54k

Bring on a HUGE training week. 11hrs I think next weekend alone....

Kokoda

This time in 8 weeks will be the end of my first day on the Kokoda Track. Unlike the rest of my trip which is just plain exciting, the prospect of visiting PNG and walking the Kokoda Track makes me feel everything from very emo to excited to sh*t scared.

I have been doing a lot of reading about WWII and the position, and importance, of PNG generally and Kokoda in particular in the last few weeks. I distinctly remember being taught about the 'european conflict' during WWII at high school. I have absolutely no recollection of being taught about the 'pacific conflict'. Either I wasn't paying attention or (more likely) it was 'glossed over'. That's a shame - it really was perhaps the most significant battle for Australia during WWII.

Interestingly it has been the poems written by Diggers who served in PNG which have not only reduced me to tears on many occasions but that have really got me thinking about my grandfather's experiences there. I have, of course, always known that both of my "pop's" served in PNG in WWII but it hasn't really been until now that I have 'got' it. I now find myself wondering exactly how they felt as they sailed out of Sydney. Were they amongst those who were excited & saw it as a 'great adventure' (as many of the country boys did) or were they sad to be leaving their loved ones & nervous / scared about what may lay ahead? Unfortunately I will never know.

Aside from my reading, YouTube has (of course) provided some fascinating material. Back in the 90s I think there was a special episode of A Current Affair (I'm talking back in the days when it was a real current affair show, not reality tv trying to pass itself off as news) which followed several 'celebrities' as they hiked the Kokoda Track with the company that I am travelling with. If you are interested - if only to recall what Dermott Brereton's mullet looked like - the first instalment is here.

T'was the night before a recovery week...

...and I am one tired gal!

Tesso, I need to be able to carry 25kg - at altitude - by the time I head to Argentina in January. Gawd knows how!

Saturday
AM - 80mins run - 11.41k - av. 7:01m/k - 145BPM
This low HR training stuff really works; I am absolutely converted to it now (thanks Hamburglar!). While hills / inclines / false flats still cause my HR to spike (and today fatigue started to set in around the hour mark), on the flat today I was averaging around 6:30m/k pace - about a whole minute faster than when I started this little experiment. Nice :-)

Sunday
AM - 4hrs 53mins hike - 15.54k - Grand Canyon x 2
My oh my. No wonder I'm tired tonight.



Total elevation was + & - 1,752m!

R & the Mini Mango decided to join me today so I left the car at 8am, did a bit out & back along the Cliff Top Track and then did a clockwise loop of the stunning Grand Canyon, before heading back to meet R & Mini Mango for the second lap. I did the first loop (2.5hours) with a 20kg pack (plus water). But the glute wasn't particularly happy with that so I off loaded 7kg into the car & did the second loop with 14kg which made my glute much happier. Fortunately my next pack hike isn't for 2 weeks so that I should start to see some improvement by then (touch wood).

We finished our lovely day with a great lunch in Blackheath before a pitstop at Springwood for coffee & cake on the way home. Nice :-)

Bring on the recovery week!

MTD:
Run - 11.41k
Hike - 15.54k

Deliciously golden

I love this time of year - the Golden Delicious apples are sensational :-)

Ewen, thanks for your comment re HR. I'm going to stick with my 147 for the time being - I just found 138 far too low/slow. I realise & accept that I am not doing enough mileage at the moment to get maximum results but HR training is not my primary focus at the moment. It will be however when I get back next year.

And Tesso, actually the weight of my pack didn't increase last week. It does this week (!)

Monday
Rest day - and first frost / ice on the windscreen this winter!

Tuesday
AM - 40mins stairs - av. 145BPM - max. 175BPM
Holy moly. This was one heck of a session - 10mins of walking stairs with 15kg pack followed by 10mins running the stairs sans-pack, repeated twice. I was supposed to do this lovely little combo 3 times (60min in total) but decided to pull up stumps as my right glute didn't particularly enjoy walking up the stairs with the pack. Probably a good thing too because the 20mins of stair running completely fried my calves!

Wednesday
AM - 40min easy bike

Thursday
No run this morning. Have been really tired all week so decided a bit extra sleep was more important.

PM - 60 mins strength session with PT

Friday
Rest day :-) Also headed into see the physio - aka the Strapping Lad - today about my glute. Fans of his work will be disappointed to know that he did not live up to his name! The glute niggle has been hanging around for a while - turns out it's a very mild case of tendonosis in my glute med tendon. Only v. mild because I only notice it sometimes and then only when walking up steps with a heavy pack. I left with another exercise to add to the collection & instructions not to overload it too much.

Long run tomorrow & another 4.5 hour hike - this time it hits the pack hits the magic 20kg mark (!) + water - on Sunday. Then a much needed recovery week :-)