Final Instalment!!

It's kind of sad sitting here to write my last post. A few times throughout this whole thing the actual process of sitting down to write has been hard... hard to get motivated... and sometimes time consuming. But looking back I am so happy to have such a record of the past 18 weeks.

I left you last Thursday getting ready to head down to Busso. Due to a few circumstances I ended up leaving Perth around 6am and had a good run into Busselton. I was happy to be on my own , with my own thoughts. I was feeling pretty good. Once in Busso I unpacked and then met Mum, Dad, Brad and Ian for a coffee down at Fat Ducks. A great little bike shop with a coffee shop attached and man it was buzzing!!! Lycra was everywhere!!!

After coffee I headed down to register and browse the Expo. Probably the only disappointment for the weekend was the Expo...what expo????. Shame ,as in the past the expo has been the social hub where everyone bumps into everyone. Hopefully with some feedback they can improve on that for next year.

Anyway , I wandered around for an hour or two on my own. I was in a good mind space. Checked out the swim exit, walked onto transition and then checked out the finish line. I then headed back home had some lunch and put my feet up.

It was not long till the others started arriving at the house. Nicki and Nat were the first to arrive. While I rested they headed off to do all the rego etc for themselves. On their return we took Nat for a 1 lap drive of the course as she had not had a chance to look at it up until then. A quiet evening ,however a bit of a restless nights sleep.

Saturday morning and the weather wasn't looking good. Nat and I managed to get a very short ride in before the heavens opened up . We just did 14k's as a last bike check and lucky we did as Nat realised her computer was hanging by a thread on the front fork of her bike. Certainly couldn't have been a better place to get it sorted so after a little running around we managed to purchase a new computer . Our friend Chris (the legend) came over and fitted it for her.

I had spent a fair bit of time calculating my nutrition, (Carbs and Sodium) and had a time line of what to eat every 15mins on my bike as a reference plus we had organised all out gear the day before but we were keen on double checking it again. So after checking once and checking it twice ( and thrice!!) we headed off to drop the gear and bikes into transition. Nothing more to do now till race day.

Nat and I with our Bike and Run Bags Transition Area 1 and 2

Over the afternoon the others (Julz, Sue, Arron and Craig) started arriving with my husband Will and my boys Kale and Jordan not arriving till about 9 that night.

I had gone to bed around 8 30 but just couldn't sleep. Grabbed a magazine hoping that would help.. no such luck. Then Will and the boys arrived . For sure I would now fall asleep or was that wishful thinking. Apparently so... We then started getting calls from Perth to tell us that they had our dog Lucy. Somehow she had got out and headed off to a strangers house. How she knew we weren't just going out for the evening like we do is beyond me. She had been fed and was going to the neighbours first thing in the morning ..supposedly!!! Well after a few phone calls back and forward to Perth that got sorted out. I finally fell asleep about 12.30 -1. Alarm went off at 3.15 so with very little sleep I got up to have my pre race breakfast. An English muffin with a mashed banana and honey on top accompanied by a hot Milo.

Down to get body marked , add the last few things to the bike, 2 more toilet stops, wetsuit and down to the race start.

Here I was ..finally. I thought I would have been more nervous than I was (maybe I was too tired to be nervous). Someone the night before passed on some advice that they had been given from one of our club members.."Even if you do 10 ironmans in your life, you will never ever do your first Ironman again. It's unique and special. So smile and enjoy."

With those words circling thru my mind I can honestly say standing on that beach I was calm. And that's how I stayed for the rest of the race. I knew I had done the training and I put faith in that... and I smiled!!! The whole race. ... oh except for when I was breathing under water of course.. :)

Aerial shot of the swim start...just love this photo

So off we go. It was certainly a messy start with all the age groupers going off at the same time.I tried to get onto someones feet to get the benefits of the drag but it just never seemed to happen for me. I was feeling good until I got to about a two thirds thru the swim when I was hit by a massive cramp in my left calf. I tried to swim thru it but just couldn't . I managed to find some clear water , turned onto my back and tried to stretch it out. I had a long day ahead of me and wasn't prepared to let this stop my race. With the cramp gone I continued. Unfortunately for the rest of the race that calf was painful and felt like it was going to go into cramp at any moment. Lucky for me it didn't.Swim Time... 1hr 4mins 21 secs

Bike compound .. $$$$$$

T1 took me 6mins 1 sec and then it was on the bike.

I felt comfortable on the bike today. I stuck to my nutrition plan like glue. Ate every 15mins , stretched every 15mins and kept my fluids up. There was a nice head wind on the way back into town but the knowledge that you were soon to see all your family and friends was enough to keep you going. Only a couple of times my mind wandered to the run leg and then I remembered to stay focused and leave thinking about the run only in the last 10k of the bike ( good coaching advice). I think today I was just travelling on adrenaline. I never once had any negative thoughts out on the course about possibly not finishing . I even felt that I could possibly have gone harder on the bike but I was scared that that would leave me with nothing for the run. So I sat on my 32kms @hr fairly steadily for the entire course.

Bike 5hrs 39mins 46secs..T2 4 mins 24 (including a quick toilet stop)

What an amazing feeling coming in on the end of that bike course. With 2 thirds of the course down and feeling as good as I was , I was looking forward to the run. It was a surprise feeling like this. When I had visualised the course during my training , the run had always been the "X" factor. Always been where I thought I would have some dramas. But in real life it was not to be. Luckily I was feeling good.

Smiles all round

My goal in the run was firstly just to get thru it, secondly I really wanted to break my 2 previous marathon times which were both about the same 4hrs 35mins. The weather was kind to us and so was everyone out on the course. The 150o or so volunteers were just awesome and along with the crowd really help you along. My left calf was hanging in there but felt like it would go at any time. I'd hate to think how much extra sodium I was putting into my body but I was just popping those salt tablets about every 5kms. The only other muscle in my body to give me any trouble was my mouth!!! That's what happens when you don't stop smiling!!! I can honestly say I was having a ball. Yeah it was hard but somehow the brain just flips that pain switch off and I got thru it. I tried to soak the whole thing in. I didn't want to forget anything.

Well another milestone reached... got thru it and marathon time 4hrs 11mins!!!!

Running up the finishing chute is something I don't think I have the words to explain properly. 18 weeks of training, cold mornings, rain, lots of wind, 3 am morning starts, tears... all those things just seemed to disappear out the door and in their place was this huge amount of happiness.... too much happiness for one person. The huge feeling of accomplishment will be with me for a very very long time. I saw my brother on the other side of the finish line and just gave him the biggest hug crying and laughing at the same time. He has always been and always will be a huge source of inspiration to me. He, as a brother and a coach , has had more confidence and faith in my abilities than I had in myself . Thanks Brad ... your the best.

Once they whisk you away out the back there is food and massage available but I just wanted to see my husband. The look on his face is one I will never forget...priceless. It was a bit like a B grade movie with me wanting to run into his arms..... instead I limped very slowly!! But even B grade movies can have happy endings. I got the biggest hug and the knowledge that my husband was so very very proud of me and that was an awesome feeling.

I had set myself the overall goal of completing my first Ironman in 13 hrs ... I exceeded all my expectations by finishing in 11hrs 5mins and even managing to place 3rd in my age group. While I was stoked with these two achievements , I can honestly say I think I would have felt the same no matter what time I had finished.

Ironman isn't just a race ....... it's a place you go to in your life!! Where you push the limits, where you see yourself for who you really are. Sometimes you may not like what you see while other times you surprise yourself. Do I feel different...Yes I think I do. Maybe its still the adrenalin pumping thru my body. That's probably why I think I'll go back for more!

My friends and support crew... the best there is!!

Trophy time at the Awards Night and After Party

So to all of you that have come along every week...THANKYOU , THANKYOU , THANKYOU.
It's been a ride that's for sure.... Hope you enjoyed it!!!

This is It!!!

Hi all,
Well this is finally it. Last week of taper and all roads now lead to Busselton. As with any taper week the load has been alot lighter. All up in the last 4 days I have done 2 swims (5.5kms), 3 rides , one being on the windtrainer , totalling 91kms and 2 runs ..18kms in 1hr 35. I might do a short ride down in bussleton to check the bike, make sure computer is working etc etc and if my heel is feeling ok a very light run.. (it's still a bit tender from run training on Tuesday). Otherwise that's it till the big day on Sunday.
I''ve just done a quick calculation of the training since I started 18 weeks ago. .... and here 'tis
Swim..... 142kms ....49hrs 53mins
Run.........853kms....77hrs 21mins
and Bike ( this one really surprised me) 4567kms....162hours

WOO HOO!!!!!!!!!
I want to take this time now to just thank everybody for their well wishes, for their support over the last 18 weeks. Also to all my family , Mum, Dad and my boys but especially to my husband Will. Also a premature thankyou to all my friends and family coming down to support me this weekend.... it will be all the more special to have you down there to share this with that's for sure.
So to everyone who's been coming along every week , having a read and dropping me a line. . . it's been fun!!! Thanks for all your wonderful supportive comments.
So the next time you log in I hope to have a race to report!!!!

Just got this photo of part of the finish chute up the main street of Busselton.. How cool!!

Instead of leaving you with my usual quote this week i leave you with this You Tube video. I watched (on DVD) this guy race Kona a few years ago (2005). The following year he watched the race in his wheel chair and sadly he had passed away by the time Kona had come around again. Jon Blais.. the Warrior Poet. Have a listen to the words he speaks . I hope they speak to your heart as they did to mine...
Bye for now ... see you on the back of my big day. Stay safe and take care!!!!!!!!!!

Amazing Stories

Well its taper time and life has slowed just a little. I have been watching some of the people's stories unfold on the Ironman Facebook page with a lot of interest.
How wonderful that this sport is there, not just for the professionals. That everyday people with more than everyday stories can attempt such a wonderful/ challenging event such as an Ironman. There's a lady who's spent the past few years battling cancer. A gentleman who lost his wife to breast cancer less than 12 months ago and races in her honour, who will have a crowd of friends dressed in pink tshirts coming to Busselton to support him in his quest to finish. There are Grandmothers and Grandfathers. People coming from Canada, USA, Sardinia, Japan and many of the European countries. All with the same thing/goal in mind.
It's interesting how there are some things in this world that UNITE people. Music is one of those things and it appears among others that Ironman is also a conduit for people to come together from all walks of life. Out on the run people are supporting each other along the way. Crowds are cheering you on. Truly a beautiful thing....Away from wars and borders where colour, religion and burkhas hold no interest.... just the respect and honour that this race deserves.


As I mentioned I am in taper.. Monday I had a lovely swim. It was nice after the weekend rest to not swim with heavy legs!! In the afternoon I had a 20k run. My last longish run... Fantastic.


Tuesday morning I met up with Nat for a 30km recovery spin and then onto the track in the afternoon for a much lighter set than over the past few weeks..... 2kms at threshold,1km at interval pace then 5 x 400. With the 1st, 2nd and 4th lap at threshold and laps 3 and 5 at interval pace ( which is slightly faster).


Wednesday was back in the pool and then windtrainer session in the afternoon. The intensity in these sessions is still high but they have shortened considerably. This particular session only went for 70mins.


This morning I had 50kms to do on the bike. I got up at 4am was on the road by 4.15 and met up with Nat around 4.30. It was a full moon this morning with a steady but not tough southerly. Both Nat and I were both surprised at how fast the past few months have gone and we really are finding it amazing that in 10days we will be attempting probably one of the toughest things we will ever do in life. I enjoyed my ride this morning and felt relatively good. My calves and hamstrings feel tight but I am off for a massage tomorrow afternoon so that should help.
It's Friday morning and I've woken up with a sore throat again. Not happy about that at all. I skipped swimming this morning making today my rest day instead of Sunday.
This afternoon I grabbed 10mins of TV while having a quick bite to eat. There was a lady on there "Amy" who while in hospital having her 2nd baby had picked up a flesh eating bug. She ended up losing both her arms and both legs. The hospital staff said that they were waiting for her to hit the "Why Me"... but it never happened . She just wanted to get home to her children and look after them.... When interviewing her she didn't complain and was happy but made a statement saying there were just some things she would never be able to do... Never. Wow that resonated with me. We are all so very lucky to have one very important thing in our lives and that's choice. It made me think about the Ironman next weekend . I can do this Ironman..... because I want to...........
because I choose to.......
because I can.................
How blessed are we!!!!
I will think of Amy while I race. I know she will never know who I am or what I do but I have decided to carry her will and tenacity with me next weekend.....

The afternoon I headed up to my sister-in-laws for the best massage!! Thanks Ileana.
All greased up from my massage I headed down to Sorrento Surf Club to watch the Max Grieves run. The club holds this run every year in memory of one of their founding members who passed away from cancer. It was a great turn out. There's a 10km and 5km run and a 5km walk. At a guess I am thinking they got about 50-60 people down there and just as many if not more watching. My assistant coach (ha ha) Sue, won the females...you go girl!! It was a great night and hopefully the club will have a good donation to hand on to the Cancer Foundation.
Saturday morning I woke at 3 to chairs and umbrellas being blown around everywhere. I decided there and then that I wasn't going to ride this morning. When I spoke to the others they said it was horrible and that they didn't end up doing the 90kms due to such strong and dangerous winds. Will and I had a sleep in and then jumped on the windtrainer and did our 90kms. Later on in the day we headed off to Han's for dinner then went to watch the movie "The American " with George Clooney. Sad to say very disappointing . I love George but not in this movie . We found it slow moving and quite boring. We kept thinking there was going to be some big major twist at the end but it never came. Oh well ... still a lovely night out.

Sunday and today is supposed to be my rest day. But not having swam on Friday I just wanted to do a nice easy couple of k's. I had brought some new goggles and wanted to give them a run as well. Met Sue (Ass. Coach :) ) at Craigie and had a lovely swim. The weather was warm and the water was refreshing.

So a nice week of taper . All up did 12hrs 45 of training
Run...36.5kms ... 3hrs 10mins'
Bike...155kms....6hrs 55min
Swim.7.6kms.....2hrs 40mins

So as a tribute to Amy, I leave you with this quote from John D. Rockefeller (1839-1937)

I do not think there is any other quality

so essential to success of any kind

as the quality of perseverance.

It overcomes almost everything, even nature....

4 More Days To Go!!!

4 more days to go till taper..... Will I make it in one piece. ... That is certainly the question!!!

Everyone else from the Busselton weekend seemed to be feeling great but unfortunately not me. I woke up with a sore throat again this morning and my legs feel like lead. Don't get me wrong here.. I don't want to appear as if I am complaining, I'm not. I'm just telling it like it is so when I read back on this in 6 months , 12 months time , i will remember how I was feeling at this particular time in my programme.

So like I said, sore throat, lead legs....yeah , yeah, yeah.... you got it I know!! So I did my swim session this morning with probably 80% of it using fins. Then in the afternoon into a howling southerly I did my 20k run.... nice and easy but that wind made it tough.

My Tuesday ride was down to do 100kms. I knew that apart from either getting up at 2am or taking a day off work(neither of which were going to happen) I was going to struggle to get that done before 6am. I had decided that I was going to get up and on the road by 3am and just ride for 3hrs and get done what ever I got done distance wise. Well when I woke just before 3 my throat felt like I was swallowing razor blades... no riding for me this morning. As seems to be the case for me and sore throats as the day went on it felt better, not gone but better. So in the afternoon I jumped on the windtrainer for an hour before heading off to run training. Feeling very sluggish as I ran around I opted to still do the session but at a slightly lesser pace than Brad would normally have me do it at.

At first I thought maybe I was coming down with something but I think I am just tired and hoping that with an early night tonight ( and lots of gargling with Betadine) things will start looking up. I think everyone training for Ironman would be feeling something around this time so I am sure its all normal.

Wednesday morning... still woke up with a sore throat but nowhere near like yesterday. Did a 2.6k session in the pool... no fins today.
This afternoon as I sit on my windtrainer all I can think about is the weekend and my 2 rest days. I worked as hard as I could with that as my focus, my reward you might say. Unfortunately the sore throat and tiredness is not going away!!!
This morning there were horrible winds which I have to say is not my reason for not getting out there on the bike! No ... it's a bit like Ground Hog Day I'm afraid. Woke at 3 with probably my throat feeling the worst it has, so went back to bed. I was extremely restless. A combination I think of not feeling 100% and annoyed at this weeks lack of training. So about 4am I jumped onto the windtrainer with the idea of just riding for an hour ... just see how I felt. I ended up doing 60kms ... not quite my 90k as was on the programme but better than nothing.
I had an appointment with my doctor this afternoon so sorted out my asthma medication so hoping given 48hrs I will have that back on track. I also dropped my TT bike off for its final "Check Up" before the race.
By the late afternoon I was again feeling slightly better. I was meeting Tarnia for a 14km run. We left our run till about 6.30 as it was a 37 degree day. What a magnificent sunset. Totally spoilt running along with a spectacular pink sky as our running partner!! Felt pretty good tonight and thoroughly enjoyed the run.
Friday .. I found swimming this morning quite hard. Whenever we start off with 100's at a fast pace I just seem to struggle. And that my friends is it for the week!!! No training this afternoon or tomorrow OR Sunday. I had a dentist appointment to go to then had booked myself in for a facial which was wonderful.
So this weeks load has been alot lighter than it should have been... a kind of self imposed taper you might say. Let's hope with some rest I will be feeling better come Monday when I start my "official" taper..


Totals for the week'
Bike 136kms...4hrs 30mins
Run 44kms.....4hrs 7mins
Swim 7.7kms 3 hrs
total of 11hrs and 37mins ( this is actually my lightest week since I started)

So while this week has seen a few hiccups my end goal is still the same.... Get to that finish line!!!!

I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to reach my destination..

Jimmy Dean

Busselton Training Weekend

Had a bit of a late night last night so didn't make swim training this morning. Had a wonderful family meal at the in laws. Pretty well everyone was there . So just imagine .... 3 long tables put together with 25 to 30 people, talking , laughing, eating...more talking more eating.. and it's not even Christmas when EVERYONE will be there.


So as I said didn't make training but heard thru the swim grapevine that 2 of the girls in the squad (twin sisters) were involved in an accident on the weekend where a lady pulled out in front of them. One has broken her collar bone again for the second time in about 10weeks and the other got off with some bruising, scratches etc. Having broken my collar bone in January I felt pretty sick. Katie was now out of the Ironman and heard she was devastated as you would be. You really train and dedicate so much time that to have it taken away from you this close would be disheartening. I know she will be back into training soon ... good luck!!


Monday afternoon I had another 33km run. This was to be my second run of this distance in 5 days. I have to say I was a little nervous and it took me awhile to get my act together and get out the door, but as always once you get started..... My heal was still giving me some pain so had set out thinking that even if I get 20k done I would be happy. So off out the door and I was feeling surprisingly good. Good enough to do the whole 33k in 12mins less than I did it last Thursday. Needless to say I was stoked!!!! Please , please, please let me run like that on race day!!


Tuesday morning was a 30km recovery ride... thank goodness. Even though I pulled up pretty well after my long run yesterday , the legs were feeling a bit heavy.


At intervals today I thought I might have been let off easy. It's funny how we sometimes think we just haven't anything left in the petrol tank, but somewhere deep down there's a "reserve" tank. Well that was me. My legs were tired and when Brad gave me my session, the first thing that rang thru my head was " no, can't do it".... But just as quickly I changed . I at least have to give this a go!!! So after our usual 1200m then 8 x 100m warm up I got started. 2km nice and easy , 20mins holding 4min 52, 5min easy,15min holding 4.52 then a cool down. And yes I did it!!!


Wednesday swim then my windtrainer session in the afternoon. I had so much to squeeze in this afternoon. Work is always busiest on a Wednesday, then I had to get stock, some food shopping then my session. Then it was off to Mum and Dad's for my Mum's Birthday.....Happy Birthday Mum. Dad cooked a beautiful lamb roast. I don't think there was one thing left on my plate , it was sooooo yummy! It was kind of a mixed birthday as my brother Brad's is the following day. My sisters and I put in and brought her a gorgeous top . Mum and Dad are off on a cruise soon so it will be nice for her to have some new clothes to wear. Unfortunately it didn't fit but Mum changed it the next day for an even more gorgeous top... so it all worked out in the end.


Thursday.... today would have to go down as probably one of my worst days of training. I had 50k to do with 10 short hill repeats. Well I got 2 done.... yes only 2!!! As soon as I got up out of the saddle I could feel pain in my left groin area. Ok lets do another one see how that goes.... nope no good. So I opted to drop the hill repeats and just get the distance done. I could see the weather coming in from over the ocean. Waiting waiting waiting and then it finally hit.. Pushing into a very strong southerly and soaking wet I thought I was going to have to pull over, however after about 15 mins the rain and wind completely disappeared and it was just beautiful (apart from the slippery roads). A group that I could see ahead of me went around the Whitfords Rd round a bout and down went one of the girls... Lucky she wasn't too badly hurt just a little shaken. Needless to say I took the corners ever so slowly after that!!


I had a 20k run to complete when I got home from work and unfortunately my heal did give me quite a bit of grief and I only managed 15k...Came home and iced it. I don't need to run now till Sunday so hopefully given some rest it will come good.


Well this weekend I am heading down to Busselton with Anna, Sarah,Paul and Brad our coach from "The 6th Discipline".


I still had a swim session to do but because I had taken the day off work there was no need to rush. Brad and I then went to breakfast with some of the other guys from swim squad. After that it was home , pack the bike and gear in the car and head south.
I just love Busselton. We had perfect weather. I am a little nervous about tomorrow's ride ,but also looking forward to getting out on the course.


Everyone eventually got down to the house so we headed out for a yummy dinner at one of the local restaurants. Driving up the main street are all the signs to signify that the Ironman is coming. It was really exciting!!

Paul,Anna,Sarah,Me and Brad (a little blurry!!!!)

Sarah, Myself and Anna under one of the Ironman signs that run up and down the main street...

Saturday morning finally arrived. We all had checked out the course the night before but still left and rode together for about 25-30k before everyone just went at their own pace. On my second lap of the course, as I was going over one of the few rough patches of the course, I lost my drinkbottle. By the time I stopped and went back to get it I had been dropped. Not only that I had lost all my drink and only had half a bidon left for about another 80-90k's. This was no drama as the house we were renting for the weekend , while not directly on the bike course, was so close . So after completing lap 2 I dropped back to the house , refilled my bottles and headed back out there with as little delay as I could. I was feeling pretty good and eventually caught up with the girls. All up managed my 180k in just under 6hrs so was very happy with that.

Anna and Sarah ready to rock and roll

In the afternoon we started talking about the race. Brad covered pretty well everything and gave us alot to think about.

About 3.30 we headed down for a quick swim, probably only about 25mins. The water was lovely and I have to say after such a big ride quite refreshing. Unfortunately I had trouble with my asthma again so am a little concerned about that.




Before dinner we sat down again but this time to talk about our mental preparation for the race. This is definitely an important part of the race. I could see how it would be so easy to just let your race fall apart if you let your mind take over in a negative way. Brad gave us some strategies to use leading up to and on race day .

After a great BBQ dinner it was hit the sack. I think we were all pretty exhausted. It had been a long, physical day, but I think everyone was pretty happy with the way it had all panned out. Anyway we needed some sleep, tomorrow was another early start!!!!

Not alot of sleep for me last night...sore throat and blocked nose. I knew once I started riding I would start to feel alot better. The plan for today was a one lap ride of the course (60kms) then a 17km run off the bike. Again it was a stunning morning, especially when you get to ride thru the Tuart Forrest...just stunning. Being a Sunday there was alot less traffic on the roads as well. I got off the bike and was feeling pretty good. Running the first 8km at around 4.45's then everything just went downhill from there. My left heal again!!!!! Did the 17k in 1hr 27min in the end.

But check out below what I rewarded myself with for Breakfast........ Pancakes!!!!!

After breaky we had our final talk on Nutrition, pre and race day. This is all based on how many carbs to consume @hour @kilo of body weight. It's can seem at first a little daunting. But I will sit myself down sometime this week and just go thru it on my own based on the info Brad gave us.

From my point of view the weekend was invaluable and a huge success. The information we received will really help us in our endevour to cross that finish line on what will be one tough day... Also getting a chance to ride and run the course , I think, breaks down any mental doubts I previously had.

So ... i have had a BIG week. I am very , very tired , but feel very satisfied especially coming off my big ride on Saturday !! 4 more days of training then I get a rest and start to taper.

Total for this week

21hrs and 1min (every little bit counts you know!!)

Run 76kms 6hrs 41min

Bike 348kms 11hrs 45mins

Swim 6.7kms 2hrs 35mins

Well Margaret I think this quote pretty well sums up my weekend and the past 15 weeks. Tired but very satisfied !!!!

Look at a day when you are surpemely satisfied at the end. It's not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it's when you've had everything to do, and you've done it!

Margaret Thatcher

Who would have thought!!!!!

Who would have thought .... 13 weeks have passed and truly they have flown by!!! I have had a pretty decent week this week. Feeling reasonably good apart from a few little niggles.


Monday... first swim of the week 2.6kms. This afternoon I had a 20km run. One of the girls I swim with started her Ironman training program today for Ironman New Zealand!!!! I met up with Tarnia down at Marmion and she joined me for 13kms of my 20k run. I know I've said it before but having someone to train with really does make a huge difference. That first 13k of the run flew by and the rest just seemed to drag out.


Tuesday.. Up at 3.30 to do my 50k ride with 9 short hill repeats that really do get the heart pumpin!! 4kms into the ride...BANG!! a flat tyre. I'm pretty confident now in changing tyres so called Nat who was going to meet me in the usual place . She got to me just as I had finished fixing the tyre and in no time we were back into it.
Off to run training in the evening. Brad got a few new people tonight which was great. So while they were going thru their warm up and time trial I had my session to start. 1.2km warm up, 8 x 100m knees up, run thru 's , skipping etc. Then 4 x 10mins holding 4 min 50sec, 2min active recovery between each set then a final 2km cool down.. All up a 12km set.


Wednesday a good 3km swim set and in the afternoon a very tough hot, windtraining session that lasted 1hr 55mins. The temperature had hit about 36 degrees today so sitting in that garage, Sarah and I earned every drop of water we drank.

This morning was a 30km recovery ride in the small chain ring.... nice and cruisy.
Ok so now to Thursday afternoon, my 33k run. Come on Helen just get started... you can do this you've done a marathon before... just get your arse out the front door. !!!!! Yep that's me just talking to myself for a good 10mins at my front door. All set to go with the fuel belt, ipod loaded but sometimes just taking that first step.. How many times in life do we find ourselves trying to talk ourselves into just "taking the first step". And usually once you do things just propel you forward and off you go!!! Ha ha.. and that was me on Thurs. Off I went. Yes it's a long way but I did it and was so very happy to finish that's for sure. It took me 3hrs 11mins not counting the toilet stops (there were 3 :) ).


Lucky for me Friday was just a swim. I had actually considered not going down while laying in bed the night before and decided that no I would go and if I felt like my legs just weren't working for me I would put my fins on. Well low and behold it was a fins session. So glad I made myself get out of bed and go.


Over the past couple of weeks I have been chatting to a few people on the IronMan Western Australia face book page. A guy from Sardinia, a lady from Queensland and another lady who is from Canada but living here in Perth for awhile. She has entered as a team with her son doing the swim and herself doing the other 2 legs. So on Friday afternoon we caught up for a coffee. It was lovely to meet her and listen to how she is finding living and working in Perth. It was also great to swap some training ideas with each other. We'll certainly be cheering each other on over the next few weeks.
Friday night we dropped over to our friends, Mary and Stan, who have just been on a huge holiday over in America. The whole crew rocked along and it was just great to see them all again.


Saturday morning we met under the Narrows Bridge again to head south for 110km ride. It was absolutely perfect riding conditions and we were travelling along nicely. On our way back Sarah, Anna and I stopped for a toilet break so Will continued ahead. 5mins later we come up on Will changing his tyre. A flat I thought! Well he did have a flat but it was how the flat happened. As he was travelling thru the tunnel there were 3 guys standing with their bikes to the side. One of the guys was looking the other way , didn't see Will coming and stepped straight out into his path. Will hit him travelling about 36kms , on his tri-bars and the just careered into the bush, hitting trees and rocks. He was so lucky to not have broken anything. He's quite stiff and sore as a result but it could have been alot worse...Lucky, lucky!!!!

After the ride it was a 12k run along the gorgeous Swan River. I've done that run a couple of times now and I really enjoy it. I like going and running in different places. We are very lucky here in Perth to be blessed with some of the best paths for running/walking/cycling around.



Sunday morning was a bit of a sleep in as I didn't need to be at the beach for our Ocean Swim till just before 8am. A 35min swim in quite choppy water and then back on the bike for another 110km ride. This time we headed north to past Two Rocks. It was a tough ride on the way back heading into a southerly. It tested me both mentally and physically today as I was tired from my ride and run yesterday. But you kinda got to get home... so we just kept pedalling. I crashed on the couch for about an hour when I got home but then had to get moving as life goes on. Got the van ready for work tomorrow and then made some salads for dinner at Will's mum and Dad's which is always a great night.

So for this week I completed a total of 23hrs and 21mins of training. It's certainly getting up there..
Swim...9.7kms 3hrs 35mins
Bike...357kms 12hrs 40mins
Run...77kms 7hrs 6mins

You have powers you never dreamed of.

You can do things you never thought you could do.There are no limitations in what you can do,except the limitations of your own mind.

Darwin P Kingsley

I just loved this quote when I read it as it really speaks to me about where I am right here and now . Every week I have surprised myself with what my mind and body has been capable of achieving. How often do we hear ourselves and people we know say " oh I could never do that". Well we can....we are only limited by our own minds. Certainly something to think about don't you think!!!!!!

Focusing In

"Focusing In". That's the heading on my programme for the next 4 weeks. Weeks 1-12 were all about preparing me for this block of 4 weeks. I am tired but not exhausted. I think my body is getting used to the early mornings etc.... although I still don't like getting up early that's for sure. A few people have asked me if I'm getting excited but to be honest , while I have visualized crossing the finish line, I have thought little on the day itself and more on what I have on "today". So I'm not nervous yet but there's plenty of time for that!!!

Monday.... got a good 3km swim under my belt this morning. Today at least I managed to hold on. This afternoon I had an 18km run. After procrastinating for about an hour I headed out. I am fine once I get going. At about the 12km mark I ran into the gorgeous, bubbly Maria McNeil. It was great to see her and we chatted as We ran together for a few k's. She is still recovering from a bout of swine flu , poor thing, so it was good to see her on the road and starting to get back into it. Thanks for the company Maria!!!!

Tuesday..... 50k bike this morning with 8 short hill repeats at max effort...phew!!! Although hard I am definitely managing these short hills way better than I was weeks ago.

For the afternoon session Brad picked me up and we headed out to the track. OK... I know I've only had 3 track sessions, but here's the truth. I have always, always , hated intervals. But I have to say I am really enjoying these sessions. Each week has been different. Tonight I did a total of 12kms. In that I had 4 x 1kms ( with 1 min recovery between each km) then 3 x 1kms (same recovery)..add on warm ups,recovery and cool downs. My 1kms I had to hold at 4.54. No faster no slower . It has always been such a mental thing with me to be able to run under 5 min ks . When I first started running I could barely manage 6min kms. Now I see myself running under the 5 it has a real affect in switching my mind set. I know I'm not holding this over long k's but I'm starting to get a feel for pace and how my body feels at certain paces.

Afterwards We hit the burger place again with both my boys joining us (Kale and Jordan). It was nice to have them along but expensive!!!!!! Maybe next week they can shout me dinner!!

Not the clearest picture but here's where we do our interval sessions..


Wednesday... struggled with my asthma again this morning in the pool. Note to self...make doctors appointment and get that looked at. Managed 2.5k.

Anna couldn't make this arvo's spin session so did that one on my own.90min session with the main set consisting of 2 x 15mins at 85 to 92% heart rate,7min recovery between each than 20mins at tempo. Add warm up etc and it was a good , hard session.

Thursday was supposed to be a double day run. Since Tuesday's track session my left heel had been feeling a little tender. Even driving and resting the heel on the floor of the car was a little painful. So I decided to nurse it today and do my 2 sessions on the cross trainer. Boy you work hard so didn't feel like I was opting out. So I did equivalent of 12k for the first session and 13k for the second one.

Friday ...swim (2.7k)

This morning (Saturday). Will , Sarah and I met under the bridge south of the river like we did a couple of weeks ago to do our ride. We only had 80k to do today!!!! YAY ..After the last few heavy weeks it felt like someone had given me a gift!! As usual it was windy . In fact when we started out in the morning it was whipping thru under the bridge and it was freezing cold but once you get started you always warm up pretty quick.I had my new race wheels on today. Nice smooth ride . Don't know if they made me go any faster though.

Will's brother and fellow work mate also joined up for a little while. Danny and Dan with Will are doing the Santos Perth ride in a couple of weeks. Today they did 52k which is a great effort when you haven't done alot of riding before. Let's hope they are enjoying it enough that they might continue their riding after the event is over. When we got back to the car there was a message from Danny (Will's brother) to say that his bike had come off the bike rack while doing 100km @ hour down the freeway. Wheels went one way , bike frame the other. His bike has had it . Lucky he didn't cause an accident!!! Hopefully this doesn't end his cycling career!!!!!

Look who got new race wheels !!!!!!

So ...back to after the ride. Poor Sarah is still having trouble with her knee and found it difficult to even walk so she unfortunately couldn't run. Will had to go and check out some electrical work at his other brothers house( yes there are more!!) . He lives in Dalkeith, Will drove there and I ran there. I had to do 12k and I knew that it was at least 10k to Rob's house. But with the Garmin its easy so off i went. What a lovely run. Not only did I have the wind behind me ( which was soooo nice after that ride) , i had the river on my left and Kings Park on my right. Up to Matilda Bay and just continued following the path then backtracked to Rob's house..12 pleasant kms done!!!

Sunday.. another ride today this time 150k and this time MORE WIND!!! what a surprise......

Sarah, Anna and I all left our houses around 5am. I headed up towards them, they to me and when we met up we then headed to Fremantle. From Fremantle we then turned into the wind for the hard slog to Yanchep. There was also another ride happening today...ride for MS. So on our way back from Freo they had one lane blocked off to traffic for bikes along West Coast Hwy. Very nice.We had the lane all to ourselves. Wouldn't it be nice to have that all the time. So off to Yanchep then turned around back to home then back to Iluka and then finally....home. That was one tough ride and very glad its over.

In the afternoon we had been invited to my friends house for a BBQ. I was really looking forward to catching up with everyone as I hadn't seen them for awhile. Helen (my friend), made it for the afternoon especially to fit in with me and my training which was really sweet. I have known Helen since year 5 at school . It's really important to her that we don't lose contact with each other so twice a year she organises a girls weekend . Usually there's about 8-10 of us who have known each other since we were about 9 years old!!! We have a great time and most of us look forward religiously to them.

Back L-R Me and Helen

Front L-R Meredith (school friend) and Karen (neighbour)

This weeks training

Swim...3 hrs....8.2kms

Run...5hrs 57mins....66kms

Bike....12hrs.....335kms

Total. 20hrs 57mins

From here on in I think it's going to be important for me to try and stay really focused. Accept feeling tired and direct my thoughts to really trying to get the most out of each and every session I have left..

A positive thinker

does not refuse to recognize the negative;

he refuses to dwell on it.

Positive thinking is a form of thought which

habitually looks for the best results

from the worst conditions...

Norman Vincent Peale, 1893-1993

American Writer, Minister

Recovery Week

Well ... this was a week to recover and enjoy because the next block of 4 weeks is a killer!! So that's what I have tried to do.




Monday morning in the pool. The mornings are so light now and warm , its not hard at all getting up . 5am is certainly a reasonable time of the morning and there are alot of people out walking , running at that time. I was very much looking forward to my massage this afternoon so you can understand how devastated I felt when the lady rang and cancelled on me due to illness. Terrible for her I know but I really , really , really wanted that massage!!!! Then, to add further "pain to the wound" the Mr Whippy van came around in the afternoon but she had run out of icecream. I mean really...... In the afternoon met up with Sarah down at Dome for a quick catch up. We don't get to talk alot while out training so it was nice to have the down time to touch base and see how each other was getting along.




Tuesday morning up early again for an 80k ride. There was an amazing full moon. I can't believe how much light there is in a full moon!!!. We had a strong southerly again. At least when you do laps you get a little reprieve from the wind . In the afternoon I was back on the Athletics track for intervals. Now that I have my pace that was set for me from last weeks 3km time trial , I now have a way of truly pacing myself throughout the session. I've never trained quite like this before so it was initially a little foreign to me. Normally I would set out quite strong but towards the end of the session fade considerably. Now my goal is to keep the pace consistent through the whole session. I have broken my time down into 100m lengths which is easy to measure on the track. After the session we headed off to a "different" burger joint down at Hillarys Marina. With any luck this could become a Tuesday night habit. I love not having to cook and the burger was delicious!!!!




At the pool today I had someone tell me (you know who you are!!!), that they have enjoyed reading my blog. I was really stoked to hear that people are actually reading it and find it interesting and not too boring and same same. In alot of ways it has become my reflection time. I sit at the end of the week and go over the past 7days. Assess what I've done, how I've felt. I have found it quite cathartic really.... and besides all that , I will have a record to maybe look back on in the future. The tricky bit is being honest with myself in print. Putting it out there can sometimes be a little scary but I believe the benefits outweigh the negative side effects from all that. Well back to the pool.... I'm still hanging in there, thank goodness. Today was a good session of 3.1k. In the afternoon it was the 3 girls again ( myself , Anna and Sarah) on the wind trainer for a 75min session.



Wednesday night saw me getting little if not any sleep. My poor husband was in agony from a tooth ache. He had just spent the past 2 weeks getting a whole lot of work done to his teeth and for some reason one of them was giving him some major grief. From midnight to 3am I was awake and knew that if I didn't get even a couple of hours sleep I wasn't going to be much good to anyone. So I did a quick mental change of my program in my head, messaged Nat to let her know I wasn't going to make our planned 60k ride and tried to get a little shut eye. My plan was to do my ride on the windtrainer in the afternoon ( which by the way I did ) then move my 15k run to the following afternoon.



So let's jump to Friday. I did get my swim in but not my run. My dad had got out of hospital the day before after having a hernia operation and by the time I went out to see him, have a chat and a cuppa, get home, it was 6 0'clock. Then it was get everything ready for the ride the following morning. It was the first time I didn't beat myself up over missing a session ... and it felt good!!!! Yay, I'm learning.



Can you believe it, I was excited today about only having to do a 120k ride. Who would have thought. Four weeks ago I would have been stressed about that but today it was more of a relief. As per usual there was a strong wind so the return trip home was tough. But I felt really good, kept up with the group and finished off managing not to lose too much pace on the way back.With an 8km run to finish off the day I headed home to hit the kitchen to make some salads. My sister-in-law was having all the family over ( ours and her husbands). It was a great night. My brother-in-laws family are very musical and after dinner and dishes were done, out came the guitars, tambourines and shakers. And yes I love to get into the thick of it all. A little Chicago, a little Neil Young!!! Ah I just love it!!! But as per usual I was the first to leave. They all kicked on till after 1am but by 10 I was snuggled up in bed as I had a swim and 20k run to do.







The water was pretty choppy and not too clear, but it certainly wasn't cold so that was good. I mean have a look at the picture..what magnificent beaches we have..We did a 40min swim , from the surf club up to the MAC club return which I've been told is about 2kms. A quick ( well kinda quick) transition and Sarah and I headed north for our run. I was feeling a little sick in the stomach before I started but it was really just minor. I had cereal with yoghurt before I left home instead of my usual muffin banana and honey. Maybe it was that or it could have been all the sea water I swallowed!! But something kept repeating on me. I made it to just before the 19km mark and had to stop and I felt like I was going to be sick. The feeling passed pretty quickly, with only just over 1km to go I finished in 1hr 49. While we were running we had talked about jumping back in the ocean after our run . Unfortunately by the time we got back to the surf club , the wind had really picked up so we just headed straight home.

Anna, Sarah,Nat and Jamie. Jamie is new to the club after moving here from Dubai...welcome

Remember me telling you about Will's tooth?? Well it just got worse and today he had to go to the doctors. It looks like a rather large abscess has formed and he's in quite alot of pain. He's now on antibiotics and will head back tomorrow when the dentist reopens.



This afternoon I met Sue and we went to see the movie "Eat,Pray,Love". It's a true story of a writer who leaves her life in New York and travels for a year to find herself (in a nutshell). I did think she was being rather self indulgent really. And then it made me think about my Ironman journey. It's also pretty self indulgent as well!!! You know I have no complaints. I feel very blessed to live the life I live but I think for myself, getting up and doing the same thing day after day can sometimes leave you a little empty. All that monotomy.. I think that's why I wanted to give Ironman a go. Shake my life up abit. Get the emotions going again. Get excited, scared, nervous, happy again!!!



Thanks for dropping by this week. If you read the blog why not drop me a comment and let me know what you "really" think.. Cheers







Ride.... 297.5kms....9hrs 54mins
Run...37kms........3hrs 17mins
Swim....10.5kms.....3hrs 40mins

Total of 16hrs 51mins



I haven't logged my weight for awhile because It seems to be fairly stagnant...maybe next week

Challenges are what makes life interesting, overcoming them is what makes life meaningful...

Mark Twain

Music,Music,Music

What an interesting week this week has been. Mainly ups with a couple of downs. Its interesting to actually sit back , without judgement, and really see how I am coping with this very new level of training.
Monday was my usual swim. As there wasn't alot of fast sets today I managed to hang onto the back of the pack and finish 2.9k today. The mornings are getting so much lighter and its quite nice to arrive at the pool in daylight for a change.
Tuesday morning had to get up at 2.45 as I wanted to be on the road by 3. I had 80k to do this morning. No efforts, no hill repeats . My averages are still low so I really need to give myself plenty of time to complete the distance. Sarah joined Nat and I this morning... the more the merrier. So now there's 3 silly females riding their bikes at ungodly hours of the morning. Nice to know I'm not the only crazy one out there.
In the afternoon I caught up for a very quick coffee with Nicki and Sarah-Jane. Shame we couldn't have chatted for longer but everyone had things to do and kids to pick up from school. Although short its still nice to take the time off to catch up with friends . These guys have both been really supportive and God knows I need as much support as possible.
Tuesday evening was the first interval training session for "The 6th Discipline", my brother's new coaching business. We met at the new athletics track just behind Challenge Stadium. Tonight there was only 2 of us, but hopefully as the word gets out the numbers will grow. As always Brad was extremely organised . After our warm up which consisted of a 12oom jog , stretches, 8 x 100m ,1 x 400 and 1 x 800 we had a 3km time trial. The times we did on our trial will now dictate for me my pace that I will need to stick to per 400m, each week at the track. After nearly throwing up( well not quite, but I was exhausted) Brad and I headed into Subiaco and had two unreal burgers at "Jus Burgers". I ordered the Lamb burger and Brad got the Vege, pumpkin and chick pea flavoured one. We then cut them in half and had a bit of both....YUMMO!!!
While in the pool for Wednesdays session I had my first hint of an asthma attack for a long time. I actually had to get out of the pool and have some ventolin which hasn't happened for ages. I continued the session which was all up 2.6k but just hung on. In the afternoon I had a 90min windtrainer session with Anna. The efforts in the main set are getting longer now. When we first started in week 1 we were doing 3 x 5min efforts , now we are doing 3 x 10min efforts. These efforts are hard. You can't talk as you try to keep the heart rate up in E3 zone (85-92%). You certainly work hard in these sessions!!!!
Thursday morning was a 50k ride with 5 x 5min efforts. The wind was howling at over 30kms an hour so every time we turned into the southerlies I counted them as my efforts. It was a tough ride and I was happy to get home in one piece this morning. At around 2pm this arvo I started to fade and fade fast. So much so that my scheduled 20km run just wasn't going to happen. It really is interesting how my body reacts to getting tired. I don't get angry or yell at the kids I just get weepy. It's quite pathetic really but I'm learning to go with it because it seems to pass... thank goodness. I had also been feeling "not right". Nothing major.... a little sore in my right ear and some tenderness under my right arm pit. Maybe my body was fighting something off, maybe not but after missing the run session I also made the decision to skip the swim session the following morning. By Friday afternoon I was definitely feeling a lot better . The afternoon session was a recovery ride on the windtrainer , staying in the small chain ring for 40kms.
As always when Saturday comes around I get a little nervous . I always get organised the night before, making sure drinks are made up , nutrition is packed in the bento box etc etc... so I was really disappointed with myself when I get to the start of the ride and realise I had left all my nutrition at home!!! There was no way I could ride 160kms without food. Lucky for me Will was also riding and so kindly gave me all his food leaving himself just enough to do a shorter ride... my hero!!! So off we go and from the very start of the ride I seemed to struggle. It was extremely windy with my bike on an extreme lean during parts of the ride. At times it seemed to just gust around and continuously change direction. This made me a little reluctant to get down on the tri-bars at times. As I said I was struggling. I got dropped pretty early on and from there on in it was head down and just try and get this done. Will came back for me and rode with me and at the 45k mark where a couple of us were turning around Sarah waited. The others were going ahead but Sarah and I were going to do laps. We tend to ride the same course most weeks so Sarah suggested we do the loops which would also help prepare us mentally for the laps we would be doing in Busselton. Will left us at the 90k mark and Sarah and I trudged on. I thought it was never going to finish...seriously! My average was low, only 28km.. so it did take forever. After getting back to Maccas I had a quick chat to the guys that had gone ahead and got back before me and then headed out to do my 11km run. That afternoon North Coast had a gathering for new and old members. A welcome and over view for those new to triathlon and a chance for old members to catch up. It was a great turn up with what looked to be about 80 to 90 people. Definitely something I think they should continue annually. From there my friend Sue dropped me at my sister and brother-in-laws house where we got some Thai take away and caught up on their fantastic holiday to Italy, a cruise and the U.S.A. By about 8 I was falling asleep at the table so I wasn't the best company.
Sunday and it's another big run today...30kms. I didn't head out till late as I am trying to enjoy just one morning a week not having to be controlled by an alarm clock. So after a lazy start to the morning I was off by about 9.30am. I don't know if it was the heat but there were hundreds of swarms of midgies out today. With a combination of sweat and sunscreen , I was covered in them by the time I got home. It was a hot run but a good chance to practice running in the hot part of the day which , if last year is anything to go by, is good practice.
After getting home I rushed and fussed around to get ready to head off to a meeting with friends. I had been looking forward to this for weeks. Before I got into Triathlons I spent just over 10 years singing in a community choir as well as a quartet. We sang in many different venues..His Majesties Theatre, festivals in Victoria, New Orleans, Fly by Night club and many others. I have so many special memories of those times and the people I sang with. It was great catching up with them all. The place was just filled with talk of happy times with lots of laughs. After about an hour we sang!!!! I hadn't sung for at least 3 years and I can't tell you what a joy it was to be surrounded by some very special people and sing totally without any inhibitions. It all came back to me...the words .... the harmonies...I remembered them all. What an absolutely wonderful finish to my week!!!!!!

This week
Swim...2hrs...5.5kms
Bike...13hrs 33 mins...376kms
Run...4hrs 35mins....48kms

Where words fail, Music speaks

Hans Christian Anderson

Very quiet in the pool today...where is everyone??? We had a good session today (2.8k). There was only 3 of us in lane 2 so I thought surely I would be able to keep up...NOT!! Anyway I worked hard and felt it afterwards. With my legs sore from the weekend and my arms sore from swimming I did a ring around to see if I could get in for a massage. I suppose leaving it to the last minute is not the way to go so with no luck for today I managed to book myself into a lady that lives nearby for Wednesday so I am looking forward to that.


My friend Nat is back from the World Championships in Budapest. She had a great race over there and is now home and having to motivate herself to get back into training for the Ironman . This is hard for her as up to now she has been doing the shorter, faster type training and now she has to build her endurance with the longer stuff. But she's a great athlete and I have no doubt that in a couple of weeks she'll be on top of her game. She has changed her start time at work so will be riding with me on a Tuesday and Thursday morning.... So it was great to have her ride with me this morning. Getting up at 3am is hard enough but when you know someone is waiting for you it seems to help. We did 70k this morning with 5 x 4min efforts with a 1min MSE (max sustainable effort ) at the end of each one. It was hard to get the body clock going but I think having each other spur the other on really helped.

Back in the pool again today . I think Ross needs to have a lane just for me inbetween lanes 1 and 2....ha ha. I just can't keep up!!!!! But I'm not giving up, it's early days yet. If I get lapped (which I did today) I get lapped. 2.7km today.. This afternoon Sarah and I hit the windtrainer. It was one of our lighter sessions compared to the past few weeks.. only 72mins. We got going early as today I was booked in for my massage. I was really looking forward to it. I don't think I have one spot in my body at the moment that doesn't hurt!!!! It was an unusual massage. Not as methodical as some I've had in the past but it was good. She really worked the whole body and I definately felt better afterwards. I've booked in for another one in a fortnights time after a big weekend of training which is when I really seem to pull up the sorest.

Up at 3 again this morning and on the bike by 3.30am. Very strange this morning with quite a lot of cars on the road. I think they are all young kids coming home from student night at the pub/clubs. Nathalie even was followed for awhile by one. Another reason its nice to be riding with someone else I must say. 60k this morning before my work day even starts. Work has been unusually busy . I say unusual because normally business drops off , just slightly, in the school holidays but its been the opposite for me. This is great but I really must put aside some time to do some paperwork .....very soon.
This afternoon was just a 12k run. Don't get me wrong. I don't normally consider 12k a short run but when you are doing long runs upwards of 20 you look forward to the shorter ones.

I didn't get up for swimming this morning. With nothing else on my program this afternoon , thought it would be a good chance to do a longer session in the pool without time constraints. It was good but forgot it was school holidays and there were kids everywhere.!!! Still.. i got my longer set in of 3.5kms. I was also supposed to do a Recovery Ride either on the road or the windtrainer. But as it sometimes does, life got in the way a little. I had to go pick up our car from the mechanics and by the time I got home and then got dinner ready it was 7 o'clock. Too late i say!!!! I had a big day coming up tomorrow !

This morning we decided to ride somewhere different so we met under the Narrows bridge on the south side at 5am. There was Dave, Anna, Craig, Sarah, Will, myself and a new member Lucas. Lucas has just moved to Perth from Melbourne and has joined North Coast. He is heading back to Victoria next week to do the "Bay in a Day" ride which covers 210kms. Apparently they get thousands and thousands of riders turn up for this ride..how cool. Anyway our plan for the morning was to do 150km on the bike with a 10km run around the bridges on our return. We were so lucky with the winds which really didn't pick up until we had about 30km to go on the ride. For most of us it was another milestone ride with our previous longest ride being 130km. Sarah was a little nervous about making the distance but I don't know why she road solidly and consistently the whole way and then had a nice steady run off the bike. Overall I was happy with my ride ..there was a moment around 135k where I was doubting my ability to make it to the end . I think my ability to make it had more to do with "my " end than the end of the ride. My backside was murdering me!!! MMmmmm I think I put that quite nicely actually... I should of said my arse was killing me but I didn't.!! But I did make it ...150km in 5hrs and then a 10km run. Will and I were exhausted when we got home. I felt so sorry for him as he had to work tonight and then get up early tomorrow (Sunday) and go to work again.. When I got home I just couldn't seem to stop eating and at one point just had to "walk away from the pantry".
Last session for the week was a 30km run. I knew the weather was to be cooler today than it had been for the past week with even the possibility of some rain , so wasn't too fussed in getting up too early. So I just didn't set my alarm and got up when I was ready . I am surprised with all the exercise I did yesterday at how poorly I slept last night. I must have woken up at least a dozen times. So as I said it was nice not to have to wake to a specific time this morning. Although a little slow to get myself motivated to go, off I left around 9.30 and headed north. About 6kms into the run, around Dome Mullaloo, I bumped into Anna who was heading south so I turned around and ran with her till just past Trigg. We didn't talk much but just running with someone who has the same agenda was nice. I left Anna at Trigg and just kept running till I hit that magic 30 number. My run was slow. Slower than I had hoped for but it the longest run I have done in ages so was happy to get thru it..

I forgot to weigh myself this week (mmmm..was that on purpose.. I wonder!!) .. but totals for this weeks training....
Swim..9kms..3hrs 20mins
Run....63.5kms....6hrs
Bike....317kms....11hrs 17mins
TOTAL of 20hrs and 27mins

Today I have been trying to follow the World Championships in Kona Hawaii. With my pathetic internet connection there was very little I could follow but I did find out that the Aussies dominated...Chris and Miranda ... you guys are amazing. And to all the age groupers who competed.. congratulations . Hope your dreams became a reality today.

To accomplish great things,

we must not only act,

but also dream;

not only plan,

but also believe.

Anatole France, 1844-1924

French writer and poet

Half Way!!

This week's blog is being compiled with the help of....drum roll..... the sweetest punnet of strawberries and the yummiest yoghurt around!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow ... I can't believe it, 9 weeks done and another 9 to go. Who was it that said "How time flies when you're having fun"...ha ha!!!

This week has been good to me. I feel alot better and have been sleeping a little better than usual. Monday was a public holiday for the Queen's Birthday ( God Bless the Queen!!!!), so I did a little re shuffling of the program , switching Monday and Tues around. That way I didn't have to get up early to do my usual Tues ride. However I was not to know that I would wake up Monday morning with a not too good stomach so had to give the ride a miss till the afternoon when I jumped on the windtrainer for 60km's. This meant I had another sleep in , oh how I love these.

Tues morning headed off to the pool for 3k's up at Craigie . This was to be my last swim on my own as I was heading back to squad training tomorrow. The afternoon was a 15km run. I have been happy with the fact that I have been able to maintain a constant pace on my runs of late instead of going out fast and then dying.

So as just mentioned it was back to squad training Wednesday. It was good to see everyone again. The pool was beautiful and warm and Ross took it easy on us for a 2.7k session. He assured us this was only till next week..MMMmmm something to look forward to. I had a windtrainer session in the afternoon (90mins) and with Anna away on holidays at the moment had to do this on my own. This is fine but company always seems to help these sessions go just that little faster.

Thursday was double day run again. I have only done one of these before and don't mind them. The idea is to do 25km with the morning run being greater than 10k and then making up the rest of the distance in the afternoon session. The weather here in Perth , although a little windy of late, has been just beautiful. So running in the morning with the moon and in the evening with a gorgeous sunset couldn't be any more special.

Friday was the day I have finally moved over for good into lane 2 at squad training. I managed 2.6k before having to jump out to get ready for work. I managed to stay with the group but drop right behind as soon as Ross throws in some fast laps. I know it will be hard for me to keep up with these guys but I know it will push me and in the end that's what I need.

I had been a little anxious about this weekends sessions. Every weekend has been a challenge for me with distance and this weekend was no exception. I was really happy though as I managed to stay with the group without being dropped...YAY!!! We even had a kangaroo jump out just in front of the riding group on our way out just before Yanchep . A beautiful animal but boy wouldn't like it to hit you. They are one built animal.It was tough on the way back heading straight into a head wind for 65kms. So all up 130kms today...

Sarah was meeting me today,Sunday, at my house so we could ride down to Fremantle to do the Freo Half. We took it easy, distance about 32k from my house . It was another stunning morning , this time with hardly any wind. Poor Sarah is struggling with her ITB so was unsure how she would go. My legs were tired from yesterday but I knew this was just another training session. Well I ended up doing a PB time!!!!! Who would have thought . Very happy finishing in 1hr 48mins...woo hoo. To her credit Sarah did the first lap of 10k and then had to pull out. Lucky her fiance had come down so she could get a lift home. I still had to make my ride up to 90k so after a nice coffee sitting in the sunshine on the lawn ( thanks Sue), I headed off.

Sue and I at the Half Marathon

I am tired but I feel happy with this week's achievements...

As you know last week I was having some trouble downloading my photos. That's all sorted out now, so while this photo belongs to last weeks blog I just couldn't not put in a photo of my lovely friend Leanne. Will and I spent last Sunday with Leanne and her husband Steve down in Mandurah and had a wonderful day!!

"Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be"

Abraham Lincoln

Weight 63.7 kilo

Body Fat 25.1%
Muscle 45.3 kilo

Swimming....8.5kms....3 Hrs

Bike..............323kms....11 hrs 18mins

Run.................61kms.....5hrs 14 mins

Total this week 19hrs 32mins