For my next trick...

So with the return to more structured planning, my thoughts have turned to my next events. So over the next months I am planning to do:

• the 100km ride at Fitz's Challenge, a "participation ride" (ie, not a race) in the Brindabellas outside Canberra at the end of October;
  
• the enticer triathlon (250m/10km/2.5km) at the Nepean Triathlon in November which will (fingers crossed) be my first race of any kind in over 2 years!

And then January 2011 brings my next BIG adventure - the 130km ride at the Alpine Classic in Bright, Victoria.

Falls Creek, by bike, here I come!

Found: 1 x mojo

Another week sans-program meant a relatively cruisy week & somewhat different from my usual training week -

Mon: headed out early for a short walk / shuffle-run thingy. I'm trying to focus on maintaining my core position and on striking with more of my forefoot. Its exhausting! No swim squad tonight :-))

Tue: rest - if you can call getting up at 5am to study, rest

Wed: 60mins pilates with Carly. I've now joined the "athlete's (group) program" (LOL) rather than the one-on-one session I was previously doing. Only problem is that I need to be on the train at 6am :-0

Thu: headed to the gym this morning for a playout - aka a strength session. Not a hard session; just really a play with movement patterns and variations ahead of my Cert IV prac assessment in the coming weeks. Besides, the big burly bodybuilder dudes with NFI & very unbalanced bodies were hogging the squat rack :-(

Fri: headed out early for another short walk / shuffle-run thingy. Ugly.

Sat: went to the gym mid-afternoon for another playout ;-) Slightly harder session than on Thursday but still really just playing with movement patterns and exercise progressions & regressions. Perhaps a few too many squats though...

Sun: 2 weeks since the race and I haven't looked at my bike - until today. And what a lovely way to get back on the bike; a planned 2hr ride along the M7 bikepath with my fav training buddies :-) Relatively cruisy ride with some great views ;-) though the hills made me realise that I had left my legs in the gym yesterday. Lovely day to get back on the bike & start planning the season ahead. 1:41. 39.3km. 23.3k/h av.

Unfortunately this afternoon I feel like I'm coming down with a bit of a cold so I had a nana nap. I never nana nap. The training mojo must be back ;-)

Madam Cirquey, although I have accommodation booked, I haven't actually entered my next big adventure yet. Thanks for the reminder. Stay tuned....

MTD:
Swim: 12.7km
Bike: 258.1km

+ 1

Thanks to everyone for your comments. I appreciate it.

Scott, I don't recall meeting him but the name rings a bell. And I'm not sure if the place is open for breakfast but it was called Megalomania and it was fine (dining) :-D

Nothing to report this week except resting (aside from a walk / shuffle to the polling station on Saturday morning and playing in the gym during my Cert IV prac assessment today) and eating f-a-r too much cr*p food.

Back on track this coming week & into some easy training. Which reminds me, time to enter my next adventure... :-D

We have lift-off !

Executive summary: I did it! 1.9km swim followed by 90km on the bike in 4:23, about 12min faster than I had anticipated :-D



Full story: [get yourself your preferred beverage & a comfy seat – you could be a while!]



Well, where to start? I had a good sleep and woke feeling rested. I felt really relaxed much to my surprise. One of the many great things about this race is the fact it took a grand total of 3mins to walk from our wing of the resort to transition :-)



After a quick set up (by which time it was 6.30am), it was off to the restaurant for breakfast (another 3mins walk). By 7am we were back at transition for the pre-race briefing where we were told the swim would be flat & current-assisted. Talk about false advertising but we will get to that....

After the briefing it was off on the l-o-n-g 1.8km walk down the beach to the race start.



Chatting to other Panthers/PIS members on the walk helped to distract me from the fact that I was going to have to swim all the way back! The first wave started at 8am and my wave didn’t start until 8.40am so I had plenty of time to chat, relax, pull on the wettie and go for a mini-warm up swim (which was my first hint that the current wasn’t quite behaving itself).



Soon it was time to start & I lined up in my usual spot at the back of the pack.



We swam out about 200m out before turning left and heading north for 1.5km. I was one of the last to turn at the buoy (as usual). But I soon settled into my rhythm and started slowly but surely picking people off including a couple of men from the waves that started 3-6min before me. I love ‘chicking’ men :-) The swim certainly wasn’t current assisted – the RD later confirmed that the current turned against us and that the latter waves, ie mine, would have been most affected. No joke. I also found the swell difficult to adjust to; it was rolling in on my right. It would sometimes catch me in the middle of my stroke and cause me to rotate too far, almost onto my side.

Soon enough thankfully the last buoy came into sight and I turned toward the beach. I touched down, got to feet, looked at my watch & saw 43:xx. Fark. About 5mins slower than I had hoped. A swear word or two later, I put it behind me and set out for the run across the beach (about 350m),

up the sand dune,

up the stairs

and into transition.

A quick transition and I was out on the first of 5 laps of the bike course. The bike course was ‘granular’, a rough road surface which can take quite a bit out of you due to the vibrations coming up through the bike and the fact that you need to work harder to keep the bike going at the same speed as on a smooth / hot mix surface. Lots of people complain about the bike surface on this course. I just trained for it :-) My bike split would have been the second slowest in my AG but I am still very pleased with it – I kept my splits consistent, my energy levels high & (unlike previous races) I didn’t let the fact that I was passed by what felt like the entire field affect me mentally.



I was surprised at how quickly the bike leg went. Soon I was on my last lap and headed back to transition where I gave R the timing chip & got a kiss in return before he set out for a run in what was by now rather warm conditions while I headed for ice cream and fruit salad in the recovery area which I consumed while standing in the (cold) swimming pool – bliss!

R blitzed his run; his split was the 6th fastest out of all 43 teams
and Team Mango Jelly finished its HIM debut in 5:58.



Another 4mins walk back to the room – we were a bit tired so it took us a tad longer – for a shower before the BBQ and presentation in the gardens. Unfortunately at this time we realised that there had been a bit of a miscommunication between us as to where sunscreen needed to be applied on my back. Large sections of my back haven’t been as sunburnt since I was a kid – very ouchy :-(

The BBQ in the gardens while watching the presentation ceremony, a celebratory cocktail & a nice dinner rounded out the day nicely!

The results were published on Monday revealed that the swim was, in fact, a slow one for most people including the pros. My swim split would have put me in the middle of my age group so I feel pleased with my swim (now). My bike split was slow – it would have been the second slowest in my age group – but I was pleased as it was 12mins faster than I had hoped :-D Let’s just say there is plenty to work on (especially my bike speed)

Monday was spent relaxing around the pool and celebrating R’s 41st birthday.

We managed to find what probably is the only fine dining restaurant in Yeppoon which (much to my surprise) turned out to be open on a Monday night for a fantastic dinner – and dessert!


Home to Sydney on Tuesday morning and already dreaming of new adventures!

Watch times:
43:xx swim
3:33:11 bike / av. 25.1k/h (goal was 3:45)

Official times:
45:51 swim
3:38 bike (including T1 &T2)
1:34 run
Total: 5:58 and 15/24 mixed teams

Thanks to everyone for your support over the last 16 weeks; I really appreciate it!

T'was the night before Christmas...

Who ever has a great taper? I suspect that there is no such thing as a perfect taper & this one certainly wasn't. As I mentioned in my previous post, this week has been characterised by too much work, too many late nights, too much stress & too little sleep. Of course, I also feel like I'm the size of a water buffalo & am convinced that I have put back on all the weight I lost during the training. So it's been just your typical taper I suppose ;-P

Mon: no run & no sleep-in either. Up at 5.15am to study. I felt smashed all day; no doubt the fact that I worked almost all of the weekend didn't help.

Swim squad after work. Yet another hard swim. I didn't feel particularly comfortable; I felt like I was low in the water (ie, sinking). Bring on the wetsuit! (3.1km). And then I got home about 10.30pm and worked for 2 hours & slept for about 6hr. Yep, taper is going well.

Tue: easy 30mins spin on the bike on the trainer to turn the legs over. 9.6km

Wed: 45mins pilates with Carly in the morning

Thu: rest. I did have a swim on the program but work took priority. Interestingly I was completely comfortable with missing my final swim, no doubt because I was so exhausted from such a $hit week at work and at least in part because I knew that it wouldn't actually add to my fitness levels. I've come along way; in years past missing this session would have really messed with my head

Fri: rest. A day off work - yippee! - travelling to Yeppoon. The race up here is based at the Rydges resort. And when I say 'based', I mean based. Transition is set up in one of the gardens of the resort and the run leg goes straight through the centre of the resort, including over the bridge over the main swimming pool. I have been feeling a tad nervous prior to arriving now but now I am (surprisingly) relaxed. It's hard not to be relaxed here!



Sat: 10 hours of much needed sleep last night - yippee! Headed to breakfast, then lazed around our room for a while before heading out with another Panthers/PIS athlete for a little mini-ride (20mins) along part of the course. Then back to the room for more laziness before heading down to expo - which is situation a grand total of 65 steps from the entrance to our building - to register and shop. More laziness this afternoon before we heading downstairs to the carbo/pasta party tonight.

Thanks to everyone for your comments / emails / messages / SMS. I truly appreciate it! I am feeling really relaxed and ready :-)

News flash...

For a moment, this afternoon I actually felt excited about this race. Yep, it's been a long time coming. This week hasn't exactly fostered much enthusiasm for the race due to too much work, too much stress & too little sleep. But still excitement managed to creep in.

Or maybe it was just the idea of escaping from work for a week for the first time since our honeymoon last November...

Or maybe I'm just looking forward to post-race cocktails by the pool... :-D

We now resume our usual transmission...

1....

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MTD:
Swim: 7.4km
Bike: 112.2km

2...

No presents - for you at least - UCB. On the other hand, at the end of this countdown I get to drink cocktails whilst laying by a pool in my bikini somewhere warm :-)

Taper time! Actually it seems we are going for the traditional taper on the bike - mileage slowly coming down - and the reverse taper on the swim - the mileage, well at least the non-stop swims, are getting longer! Whatever works I suppose...

Mon: a sleep-in thanks to a day off work & a ban on running. And I was very pleased that I did given how difficult I found swim squad in the evening. I felt incredibly flat in the water - I had no power or speed - and that was even before doing 26 x 50m. Bar humbug. 3.1km

Tue: short (30mins) strength session at lunch

Wed: what a difference 36 hours makes. Monday night was one of the worst swims I have ever had. Today probably one of the best. 2.2km which started with 2km non-stop (another first for me). I felt really strong throughout the swim & kept the splits very consistent. My head however needs a bit of work because when I saw the time when I finished (38:53) I immediately assumed that I had miscounted and missed 2 laps. Either way, it was a sub-40min 2km swim which I am very pleased with. Now I just have to do that in open water with no big black line steering me in the right (straight) direction :-(

Thu: very solid 55min bike session on the windtrainer in the garage. I was hungry even before this session started & seemed to remain hungry all day after it. 22.5km.

Fri: 45mins pilates with Carly in the morning. Have the ok to start running / shuffling a little bit next week.

Sat: another big day of training. I woke to the sound of rain which unfortunately meant my 2hr ride was confined to the windtrainer in the garage. Even with my iPod, it was b-o-r-i-n-g. I really struggled mentally from the 1hr mark. But it got done :) 50.1km.

Then at lunchtime I headed to the pool for a 2.1km swim with some 100m, 200m & 400m intervals. I was feeling really tired before this swim but, as happened last week, I felt reasonably good in the water.

Sun: Finally! A much-needed & long awaited confidence boosting ride, not only for the race but for my next goal event too :-)

I met TA & Gnome again at Hornsby at 8am for another hilly long ride starting with up & down both sides of Berowra Waters - including the obligatory ferry crossing; my first time on the ferry since I ran Black Stump on NYD 2007 - and then up & down both sides of Bobbin Head. A challenging ride and a great way to finish my last big training weekend; it was great to (finally) see all my hard work over the last 3 months pay off. Yippee! Thanks for another great morning guys (*waves*). 63.6km. 3:25.

So the hard work is done. The training begins to taper & the mind begins to focus :-)

July
Swim: 27.8km
Bike: 527.8km

August
Bike: 63.6km

3...

Another busy week - is there any other kind?

Mon: another late night watching the Tour and fortunately a day working at home thanks to a medical appointment. So a sleep-in, some work & then a lunchtime 'run' being 3 x 5min run with 90sec walk recovery. The less said about it the better.

I was feeling very CBF'd at the start of the week. If you are wondering what that abbreviation means, you probably don't want to know. Not sure why - a combination, I think, of tiredness (thank you TdF), frustration (thank you work) and nerves (thank you race).

Headed to swim squad tonight. Only 2.66km tonight but a very solid strength session.

Tue: rest thanks to work

Wed: rest thanks to a late night watching the TdF and a guest who gave me the excuse i was looking for to sit on the couch & not go for a swim (*waves*)

Thu: a big day to make up for the laziness, um I mean, restfulness, yesterday. Up at 5am for a 60min bike session on the trainer in an ice cold garage (included 3 x 8mins AT). A really solid session which made me break a sweat despite the freezing temp in the garage (24.2k). Then at lunch it was off to the pool for a 2km swim which included approximately 1.8km non-stop (my longest swim to date). I say 'approximately' because I had a real goldfish moment & completely stuffed up my lap counting. But I swam for 38mins non-stop so it would be very close. Close enough ;-)

Fri: cancelled my Pilates session with Carly so - wait for it - I could stay up on Thursday night & watch the TdF. Yes, I have my priorities in the right spot. However doing that meant I was able to go to the gym at lunch for the strength session I missed on Tuesday.

Sat: another big training day. 9 hours sleep to make up for a lack of sleep during the week before heading out for a 3.5hr ride. I felt pretty flat today; my legs just didn't want to play. I commented to R as soon as I walked in the door that I keep waiting for a confidence boosting ride which never seems to come. I felt pretty smashed once I got home however I suspect that was more due to the fact that I started the ride dehydrated & then didn't drink enough on the bike. Finished with 79km. 22.8k/h. 3:27

A few hours on the couch with my skins then I dragged myself off to the pool for a 2.2km swim which included 3 x 600m. Given how tired I was feeling, I was actually really pleased with this swim.

A hot date - complete with a huge chocolate concoction for dessert - and the time trial in the Tdf rounded out a tiring day. Thinking about the day later (with perspective), I realise that today's training was very close to race distance. I know I can go the distance; the only question is how long it will take...

Sun: after staying up til 1.15am to watch the TdF last night, I was pretty dusty when the alarm went off at 6.15am :-0 so that I could be at Hornsby by 8am to meet TA & Gnome for a 2hr ride along the Old Pacific Highway. Coffee & a deadline helped me to get out the door. My legs were feeling very fatigued & sore when I got out of bed after Friday & Saturday's sessions but they felt reasonably good on the bike once the blood started flowing. A really enjoyable ride with wonderful company and coffee; thanks guys! 46.1k. Av. 22.1k/h.

MTD:
Swim: 20.4km
Bike: 455.2km

4....

Cirque, a dead road is basically a road with a bad or course surface. So that, for the same level of effort, you actually go slower than normal. Hard to explain but think about those roads you drive on where you actually slow down when going down hill.

A recovery week for me - as much as I love my training, I do love my recovery weeks after a heavy training block.

Mon: I was due to run in the morning but rescheduled it to later in the week due to a(nother) late night spent watching the TdF. Swim squad after work again - only 2.6km this week due mostly to the fact that B+ took the session rather than our usual coach which tends to result in more talking & less swimming which suited me fine tonight. It may have been a shorter session but it wasn't any easier than normal thanks to yet another set of 10 x 100s - including my fastest yet (1:41).

Tue: rest - was due to go the gym at lunch but work conspired to ensure it was a rest day.

Wed: another rest day; I decided extra sleep was a much better idea after yet another late night watching Cadel (what I thought at the time was an implosion but what turned out to be an incredible demonstration of guts). Also gave away some of my valuable blood. If only I could get it back in 4 weeks time..

Thu: after 2 days rest (which is more than I've had in the last 3 weeks) & a good nights sleep for the first time in several days, it was time to get back into it today. Headed out this morning for my little run / walk / shuffle for the first time in about 10 days which included 3 x 8min running with lots of walking on either side. I must have been running (shuffling) slower than normal because I had a longer walk home afterwards then normal. 5.1k. 40min.

Then after working through lunch, I ducked out of the office mid-afternoon for a 1.9km swim. Not much to report. I felt really comfortable in the water; 3 weeks of consistency & it actually feels like it is slowly coming together.

Fri: 45mins of pilates with Carly this morning. Unfortunately she's cutting back my running to a grand total of 3 x 5mins as my left hip doesn't want to play nicely. <>

Sat: a 3 hr 'dubya' ride - out to Richmond, back towards to Penrith for 30mins, turn around & back to Richmond for 30min, before turning and heading for home. This was probably the closest ride I've done to a race simulation; 69km on a flat and largely dead road. My legs felt reasonably good throughout the ride (and fine afterwards) though the thoughts weren't particularly positive. 4 weeks to get my head together... 69.9k. Av.23.1k/h. 3:01

Sun: rest :-)) The first time I've not set an alarm in 6 weeks. Bliss!

Back into the hard work tomorrow!

MTD:
Swim: 13.6k
Bike: 305.9k

5...

Another huge week in so many ways!

Mon: was due to do a 2hr ride this morning on my day off but woke up after 9 hours sleep still feeling a bit rusty. Not sick. But not 100% either. So I decided to skip the session & conserve my energy for swim squad in the evening. This turned out to be a good decision. 2.96km in one of the hardest - well, fastest - sessions I have ever done :-)

Tue: 45min strength session at the gym at lunch.

Wed: otherwise known as 'toothpick (for the eyelids)' day. I worked until midnight & then stayed up til 1:30am watching probably the best stage of the TdF I have ever watched. Then dragged my butt out of bed at 7am for a 2km swim which started with 1.6km non-stop as another race simulation. I went through half way in 16:30 and maintained that pace to finish in 33:01. For my longest non-stop swim ever, I am pleased with that time, particularly given its in the 3rd week of a training block & after very little sleep

Thu: 64min bike session on the windtrainer in the garage after work. Lots of firm efforts. 25.7km.

Fri: no pilates with Carly today as I had to cancel my session due to work. Headed to the pool at work during lunch for a 2.2km swim which included 18 x 50ms in total. Yikes. Happiness is having an entire pool to yourself during a lunchtime swim.

Sat: with rain forecast for Sunday, I decided to do my 4hr long ride on Saturday. It's not my preferred long ride day; I do love my Saturday morning sleep in - if you can call 7.30am a sleep-in ;-)

I decided today to ride out along the Northern Road & then to the dreaded Cobbity Road. Cobbity is, by far, the hardest route that I have ridden so far. It is a 'dead' road surface making hard work & then there are the 6 hills which get steeper & longer the further along you go. This was my third time over Cobbity Road & it doesn't seem to get any easier. I felt really sluggish for the first 1:30 along the Northern Road until we turned off at Cobbity Road but was surprised with my effort over the hills. Still very pleased to get off the bike. 92.4k. 4:11. 22.1k/h av.

Sun: as usual, for my 2 hr ride I headed out to Richmond & back this morning along Castlereagh Road. This is a challenging ride in that it is, for the most part, a dead surface and flat. So you have to work the whole time. There are no hills to coast down. You stop pedalling, you quickly come to a stop. My legs were feeling heavy after yesterday's ride.

Someone must have let the idiotic drivers out this weekend. Once yesterday & twice during this ride, I watched cars travelling in the opposite direction attempt to overtake slower cars, which of course, put them on my side of the road coming directly towards me. Sigh. 47.2k. 2:01. Av. 23.4k/h

Ah, tomorrow sees the start of a recovery week - yippee! This week has been my biggest week on the bike ever; 166km in total. After 3 solid weeks of training - in which I only missed 1 of my scheduled sessions - I'm feeling tired but pleased to finally get a solid block in. However I don't know if there will be much recovering going on next week given the number of stages of the TdF I'm planning to watch :-D

MTD:
Swim - 9.1km
Bike - 236km

6...

Can't believe it is only 6 weeks to go until the race. I don't feel ready though I people keep telling me that I am.. ;-)

Thu: after working til midnight last night, I thought this session might be a bit of a struggle but it ended up being a relatively good session. 55min bike session on the windtrainer. 21km.

Fri: 45min pilates with Carly. Was due to swim after work but couldn't escape from work until late.

Sat: up early to meet TA at Hornsby for my first ride along the Old Pacific Highway. I was feeling a bit rusty this morning after another long week at work so I was (secretly) relieved it was only due to be a 3hr ride rather than the 4-4:30 rides I've been doing lately. Maybe that relief turned into karma because it turned into a 2:24 ride with 3 tyre changes. If nothing else, it was good practice ;-) A really enjoyable ride (when we weren't practising our tyre changing ability) with great company. Brooklyn Hill is very different from the hills we have out west & a nice change. Not to mention the heavenly road surface - bliss. Thanks TA. 49.7k. Av.21k/h

Home for a shower, more coffee & food & catching up on my (personal) emails then it was off to the pool for my interval swim session I had planned to do on Friday. 2km in total including lots of intervals. Felt a bit flat during the first one but finished the session well. This session made 7km in the pool this week; I haven't done that in a l-o-n-g time. Would have loved a nap afterwards but there was no time; a hot date with my spunky hubby before before the start of the greatest sporting event in the world. I love July :-)

Sun: I was due to do my 2hr ride today but woke feeling really tired. Thankfully I have taken Monday off work as a bit of a "mental health" day. So I decided to get a bit more sleep this morning before a short run & push my ride over to Monday. So I headed out about 9.30am for my short run/walk shuffle with 3 x 8mins run in the middle. The cardio fitness is coming along; the left hip still doesn't quite want to play the game. Yet. 4.8k in total

MTD:
Swim - 2km
Bike - 70.7km

6.5....

Yvette, I haven't included the running in the MTD because there is probably more walking than running involved. Perhaps if I called it "gait" ;-) And yes Gnome, it certainly was cool enough for me. :-0 It took me 3 hours on the bike until I could feel my toes again!

Another busy half-week. I must say I'm looking forward to the race being over, if only so that I can read the papers on the weekend without throwing them out unread. On the other hand, I will miss having the ability to eat chocolate every day and not gain weight ;-)

Mon: Headed out at 6am for a run. Covered 4.08km including a walk to warm-up & cool down with 3 x 7min runs w/90sec walk recovery in 29:01mins. Carly (my pilates/physio) last Friday suggested that I pull back on the running this week as one of my glutes is being recalcitrant and doesn't really want to come to the (running) party at the moment.

I then managed to get to swim squad again for a fantastic session. I feel like I'm swimming really well at the moment :-) 3.16km.

Tue: as with last week, this is a scheduled rest day. But given the uncertainty of my workload at the moment, I decided to take advantage of some spare time during the day to get my strength session done. Relatively easy session, primarily focused on some mobilisers, shoulder & glute work as per Carly's instructions & trying out different stuff I'm learning as part of my study.

Wed: headed to the pool this morning for a 2km swim which included 1.4km non-stop at the start in 29:10. I was a bit disappointed with the time. But quickly gave myself an upper cut when I reminded myself that I'm in a heavy training block at the moment, I probably swum an extra 50m due to a goldfish moment somewhere around lap 38 and that I've swum 5.1km in the last 36 hours!

So that bring June to an end - I can't believe how quickly this year is passing by!

Swim - 16.8km
Bike - 542.2km (!)

7...

After a recovery week from training, tonnes of sleep, a much needed weekend off work, catching up on my (much neglected) study & lots of chocolate, I actually felt human again at the start of the week.

Mon: Headed out at 6am for a run. Covered 5km including a walk to warm-up & cool down with 3 x 9min runs w/90sec walk recovery in 35:39. I still wouldn't say that running is comfortable but its getting closer. Unfortunately some tightness crept into my left hip (my old nemesis) later in the day. Bah humbug.

After work I made it to swim squad for the first time in a couple of weeks. Finished the session with about 3.1km in total; my longest swim in quite a while. I've got some work to do in the next 8 weeks...

Tue: a scheduled rest day. But given how uncertain and busy work has been of late, I decided to get my sessions done when I can. So I headed to the gym at lunch for my strength session. Glutes & legs very unhappy with me afterwards.

Wed: packed up work at 10pm last night so that I could get up in time to get this session done at 5am :-0

71mins bike session on the windtrainer including 3 x 12min of low cadence, simulated hill climbing. As I write this on Sunday, I had forgotten exactly how far this was but 28.4km is ringing a bell for some reason...

Thu: another day, another run. Same session as Monday in fact; covered 5km including a (walk) warm-up and 3 x 9mins run w/90sec walk recovery in under 37mins. Hip pulled up a bit tight later in the day. Bah humbug. I also had to run the last 9min interval without my glasses on as I managed to fog them up thanks to a combination of a pea soup fog & my heavy, rather laboured breathing. Somehow I managed not to fall over; it was a close call though.

Then it was off to the pool at work at lunch for a swim which included another 10 x 100m on 2:10 (in addition to the 10 x 100m on 2:10 I did on Monday night at squad). I was pleased with my splits for this swim. They were very consistent & give me some confidence that I'm not going to drown at Yeppoon ;-) 2.6k in total

Fri: 45mins pilates with Carly.

Sat: 2hr ride on the program for today so I decided to head to Richmond and back. This has become my standard 'short/long ride' as it is a relatively flat route but with large sections of dead road surface like the Yeppoon course. I really struggled to get myself out of bed - even at 8.30am - to do this after another long week and working until 11pm last night. But I'm very glad that I did. It was one of those sessions when you get a glimpse of the fact that all the hard work might just be paying off. I managed to keep up a good pace throughout the whole ride, helped by the fact that there was no head wind coming home (a head wind is common on the return trip). Finished with 47.6k in 1:58. Av. 24.2k/h!

Sun: t'was a bit of a struggle to get out of bed for this session on a cold morning. The (revised) program said a 4:15 to 4:30 ride at a maximum of 95km. Today's route was a tough one (for me) - Lapstone Hill (ouch!) to Blaxland, down the hill via Mitchells Pass, back onto the M4 then onto Mulgoa Road (which is a dead surface) and then out & back along Greendale Rd (more dead surface) and then home via the Northern Rd.

This was the first time I've ridden Lapstone Hill on my second ride of the weekend; I've always done it as my first ride on fresh legs. I also don't think that I've spent as much time on dead surfaces as I did today; it really messes with your head & body. Finished with 90.3km in 4:12. Av. 21.4k/h

I'm feeling rather tired this afternoon while I type this. No chance for a nana nap though, I have to work before heading over to Ma & Pa's for a baked dinner tonight :-) But I am pleased with my week. I've managed to do all of my programmed sessions for the first time in a long time - almost 12 hours training in total!

MTD:
Swim - 11.7km
Bike - 542.2km (no wonder I'm tired!)

Recovery (apparently)...

After Monday's big ride, the rest of this week has been a recovery week (from training). If only I could have a recovery week from work I might actually recover!

Tue: massage + (scheduled) rest day

Wed: worked until midnight so no AM session. Instead I headed to the gym at work at lunch for a short strength session.

Thu: (unscheduled) rest. Worked until 1:30am on Wed night. Blah.

Fri: 1hr pilates with Carly in the AM.

Sat: thanks to 9.5 hrs sleep, I woke feeling human for the first time since Monday. Headed out on my 3 hr ride on my lonesome which started with Chain O Ponds Rd (the local version of Port Mac's Matthew Flinders Drive) and finished with some time on the M4 with plenty of time on dead roads in between. Finished with 72.6k in 3:09 (av. 23k/h). Funny to think that a 70km ride is my long ride on my recovery week.

After some stretching, food, rest & a shower, I headed to the pool to catch up on the mid-week swim I had missed due to work. A relatively easy 1.8km in the pool rounded out the day (and week for that matter).

Tomorrow (Sunday) is a (scheduled) rest day which I'm spending doing my CPR refresher starting at 8.30am before spending the day catching up on some much needed (and neglected) study.

MTD:
Swim - 6.05km
Bike - 375.9km

Alpe d'Hawkesbury

Very true Ewen - but here is something not-so-dull for you; today I did my first 100km ride :-)

R & I headed out today on a long ride on a new route (for me). Leaving home at the very chilly hour at 8am, it took me almost 2 hours of riding before I was able to feel my toes again.

We headed north towards Richmond for about an hour before turning off & heading to Springwood via Yarramundi. This is a tough ride; about 11km in total uphill. The first climb was probably the toughest & then the switchbacks kicked in. About 11kms later we arrived at Springwood & started the long roll downhill, interrupted briefly by a quick stop at the Golden Arches at Blaxland for a pit-stop, water bottle refill and hash brown :-)

Back on the flat & we headed along the M4 to the Northern Rd where R turned left & headed for home while I went south for about 1:30 out & back to make up the extra time. The "outbound" section was probably the toughest section mentally of the whole ride but physically I felt really good throughout it.

I arrived home after 4:33 with 100.5km on the clock :-) Much to my surprise, I felt really good this afternoon; much better than I have felt after recent rides. I tried to drink a lot more than I normally do which certainly seems to have helped. Not to mention the effects on recovery of mum's baked dinner :-)

MTD:
Swim - 4.25k
Bike - 303.3k

9....

What a week. The earliest I've stopped working this week is 9.30pm & two nights I worked until after 11.3pm (and I've worked about 5hrs each day of the (long) weekend so far). Far too much work & food and far too little sleep & training. It's 9 weeks to race day today; I'm determined to nail every session from here on in. We'll see if work lets me do this..

Mon: up at 4.45am for a run, this time around the (cold) streets. 3 x 8mins (for the first time) w/2min walk recovery. I actually felt reasonably comfortable running so long as I was on a dead flat stretch of road. Anything resembling an incline or even false flat sent the HR skyrocketing. 4.3k in 30:23 for my shuffle/walk outing. Missed swim squad because of work.

Tue: rest (scheduled)

Wed: rest (unscheduled).

Thu: short strength session at lunch, more for my mental health than physical one. Trying to suppress panic about being under prepared for the 25% IM.

Fri: headed out at the decadent hour of 6am on the coldest morning of winter so far (the first time for frost/ice on the windscreen) for a run. Another 3 x 8min run w/ 1:30-2min recovery in between. I won't go so far as to say it was 'comfortable' but my first comfortable run this comeback is getting close...

Sat: after 9.5hrs of sleep, I woke actually feeling human for perhaps the first time this week; yippee! We were lucky enough to have company on my 2hr short/long ride today with Gnome & TA heading west for a visit. Out & back along the Northern Road for a relatively easy ride followed (of course) by breakfast. Thanks for making the effort to travel; lovely to catch up with you as always (*waves*). 45.4k. 1:57. 23.2k/h

Sun: the long weekend gave me an opportunity to swap sessions around. So I did my usual run / swim from Monday & will ride long tomorrow. After 10hrs sleep (still catching up), I took the opportunity to drive down to the river to run/walk the 2 bridges loop; Penrith's version of the Bay run but the people are much friendlier ;-P It's a 6.7km loop so I walked for 5mins to warm up then did 3 x 9mins run w/ 90sec walk recovery. HR was a tad higher than normal but this was no doubt due to the different terrain (one side of the river is footpath & the other side dirt tracks with smaller rolling inclines) and a touch of vanity fartlek.

Headed home for some breakfast & a stretch before heading to the pool for a 2km swim which started with 1.2km (23:47) to simulate a race (ie no warm up). This swim left me feeling comfortable that I'm not going to drown during the HIM swim but even more confident that I'll be able to achieve the goal I set for myself for the swim leg at Nepean this year; it's a sekrit.

Afterwards it was home again for a(nother) shower then R & I headed to Max Brenner at Blacktown where i had a chocolate souffle - for my lunch :-D

MTD:
Swim - 4.25k
Bike - 202.8k

1-Mississippi, 2-Mississippi

Clearly I should check the date before I post. I had thought that last Sunday was the last day of May. Opps.

Mon: up at 5am to head to the gym for a run on the treadmill & a bit of pilates. Today's run was 3 x 7mins (for the first time) with a 2min walk recovery. As always a struggle though particularly this time as I was feeling rather fatigued through my glutes / legs after yesterday's long ride.

Then it was off to swim squad. I managed to leave my watch at home and, being somewhat unable to read the clock on the wall, had to resort to the time counting method used by young girls the world over; 1-Mississippi, 2-Mississippi, 3-Mississippi... Probably my hardest, and best, swim session in a while. I seem to have found my mojo at the bottom of the pool. 3km.

So THAT brings May to an end with 15.4k in the pool.

Tues: Pilates, otherwise rest

Wed: up at 5am to get my swim (2.25km) in before work. I felt a bit flat in the water & fatigued in the shoulders. Not a bad swim; 'relatively' easy in that there was very little in the way of hard stuff (thankfully). Pilates in the PM

Thu: up at 5.15am again (ouch!) to get my 46min windtrainer session done before work. A solid session including 2 x 8min at AT (ouchy). Tired now. 17.3k Then at lunch I headed to the gym at work for a short strength/core session for some leg work on the bosu & cable machine.

Fri: 45mins of butt & shoulder blasting pilates with Carly. I was supposed to run but blah.

Sat: after the horrid weather on Friday, I was surprised to wake on Saturday to a clear blue sky. I may have been secretly hoping for more cr*p weather so I could go back to bed. But there was no way I was wasting such a beautiful day so I headed out on my long ride (4hrs), again by myself, about 7.30am.

This time I headed out along the Northern Road then home via the loop along Cobbity Rd. I have only done Cobbity starting from Luddenham (which is about 50mins ride from home), never actually starting at home. Cobbity is the hardest ride I've done locally yet. It's 110mins ride to get there. And then Cobitty itself is about 50mins of truly dead roads & 7 rolling hills which only get longer and harder the further you go. I felt reasonably good on the bike, even on the hilly bits, but was hit by fatigue once I got home. Legs felt very dead in the evening; even the tiramisu I had for dessert on my hot date didn't help! 4:12:44. 92.6k. Av. 22k/h

Sun: crawled into bed about 1am after staying up to watch Sam Stosur play in the final of the French Open. So it was almost (the decadent time of) 8.30am by the time I headed out for a 2 hour "mid-week" long ride. Again the weather forecasters got it wrong so I had the pleasure of another blue sky ride.

For a change of scenery, I headed out along Castlereagh Rd towards Richmond. This is a beautiful, yet challenging, ride with the mountains running parallel to the road. The road itself is basically flat with alternating patches of dead road to make you work hard & then (short) patches of nice road surface as a reward. A head wind on the return trip added to the work load, so much so that I ended up with a 10mins positive split - yikes! 2:10. 47.5k. Av. 21.9k/h. Then gained back every calorie I worked off this weekend at a wonderful lunch with great friends :-D

MTD:
Swim - 2.25k
Bike - 157.4k

4/15

Mon: headed to the gym again at 5.30am for another run on the treadmill; this time 3 x 6mins w/90sec walk recovery in between. Amazing how difficult 7min/k pace can feel...

After work it was off to swim squad for 90mins of torture. Close to 3km I'd say; I have no idea. My head & thoughts were off in the mountains somewhere. Let's call it 2.9km for the sake of it

Tue: rest

Wed: rest. I was supposed to run & swim first thing in the morning. I got up when my alarm went off at 5.15am. Got changed. Boiled the jug, made a coffee and then sat on the couch & worked / studied instead. Blah.

Thu: dragged myself out of bed for 71min bike session on the trainer in the garage (incl 3 x 12min @ 65-75 cadence). 27.7k. Av. 24.3k/h

Fri: 45mins of butt & shoulder torturing pilates with Carly in the morning. And then headed to the gym after work for a run on the tready again, for 3 x 6mins this time only with 60sec recovery. This one felt not too bad much to my surprise; I was feeling really fatigued & flat beforehand.

Sat: went to bed on Friday night psyched to do my 4hr ride on Saturday morning. I normally prefer to do my shorter 'long' ride on Saturday to give myself a chance to catch up on some (much needed) sleep. But with Sunday's weather forecast looking horrid, I didn't have much choice. The forecast for Saturday was 'rain developing' which, I assumed, meant rain developing later in the day. Apparently not. I woke at 6.30am to the sound of rain. Grumble, grumble. I don't mind riding in summer rain, and yes of course, it could rain on race day. But it won't be (almost) winter rain on race day. So I headed to the garage for a 2 hour session on the trainer - my mind couldn't take much more than that - consisting of some standing stuff, fast cadence stuff & hill climbing simulation stuff. 48.2k Av. 24k/h. AvHR134

Sun: And finally the sun came out. Dragged myself out of bed for my long ride, admittedly thinking 'thank god only 12 more weeks of this'. It's not that I'm lacking mojo; I just feel like I'm dragging my feet a bit this week. Anyhoo, I'm glad I did. It turned out to be a tough, but good, ride. I headed out for a 4hr ride by myself (my first ride on my lonesome in a long time). I headed up Lapstone Hill to Blaxland (as tough as it was the first time I did it a couple of months ago), before heading up the M4 to the M7 bike path, then south along the bike path before turning around just after the hills at Elizabeth Drive. Finished up with 90.6kms - my first 90km ride!

I also managed to get a flat tyre only 25mins from home. My first flat in about 12 months & my first when I've been out by myself which (much to my surprise) I managed to change with a minimum of fuss or struggle. Yeah me! Av. 22.3k/h. AvHR 141

That brought May to an end -
Swim - 12.4km
Bike - 503.7km - my biggest month on the bike ever (by far!)

Mountain dreaming...

I have itchy feet. Always happens this time of year; it's climbing season in the northern hemisphere. I received word over the weekend that my guide on my Mera/Island Peak climb in Nepal 2 years ago summitted Everest for the first time last week. And my tent buddy from Aconcagua last year flew out during the week for Alaska to climb Denali (aka Mt McKinley). Bar humbug.

Another huge week & thankfully a recovery week - for the training atleast.

Mon: arrived at the gym just before it opened at 5.30am for a lil run; only 3 x 4mins run w/90s walk recovery this time as my legs were feeling fatigued from yesterday's effort . Finished up with 30mins of pilates.

After work, it was off to swim squad. 2.9km in the pool. I felt pretty good during this session, despite the fact I was backing up from Sunday's (short) open water swim.

Tue: 30min pilates, otherwise rest.

Wed: 45min pilates session with Carly and a much needed massage.

Thu: headed to the gym before work for another run (!) - this time 3 x 5mins w/ 90sec walk recovery. I am looking forward to the day when it all comes today & I have a run that is comfortable. Because at the moment, it is simply hard work. Followed by a short strength / core workout.

Fri: 30mins pilates, otherwise rest.

Sat: dragged myself out of bed early-ish & headed outside for a run; my first run on the road on this comeback. Luckily I know that one day (hopefully in the not too distant future) it will be comfortable running again because at the moment it's hard, uncomfortable & being able to run 10k let alone 21k seems so far away. work. 3 x 5mins w/60sec walk recovery.

Sun: A flying visit to Canberra - down Sat afternoon, back Sunday lunch (sorry to our friends who we weren't able to catch up with) - meant a cold long ride for me this morning. This ride almost didn't happen when R, who put 3 x bikes onto the roof racks, only brought 1 front wheel. Doh. Mini Mango's wheel came to Canberra with us; both R's & my front wheel remained in the garage. Opps. Mini Mango has already decided it was cold too to ride so I commandeered her front wheel for my ride .

I took (largely) the same course I last did about 6 months ago; an hour out & back from Gordon to the Tidbinbilla Tracking Station = hilly. Then 15min on the (flat) bike paths to Tuggeranong to meet R for a coffee before riding home. I was interested to see how my speed and fitness had improved over the same course in the last 6 months. Not much was the answer. HR peaked to about the same HR on the same tough hill it did in December & I only made it about an extra 1km down the road before my hour was up & I had to turn around. This weekend has not been one for boosting my confidence. Thankfully the coffee was good & Ma Mango's cooked breakfast when I got home was tops. 53.9k. 2Hr 30min. Av. 21.1k/h

MTD:
Swim: 9.5k
Bike: 337.2k