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....