The Hard Work Begins

Well now I move into the next 4 weeks of the programme....The Strength and Endurance Phase.

I weighed in this morning and finally the scales are starting to budge a little.

Weight 64.9kg
Body Fat 22.1%

It seems when my weight comes down the body fat goes up and vice verse...go figure!!!!!




Anyway this week sees a few slight changes to the past 4 weeks. Today i swam as per usual (2.7k). The pool's temperature has been all over the place these past few weeks and today we were on the warm side. After a km you almost felt like you were in a spa!!! Anyway the pool closes next week for about 3 weeks to fix the problem so at least they're onto it.

I would normally have the afternoon off but today was a 15km run. What a disaster!! My right calf was niggling away. I have never had problems with it before. By the time I got home I could barely walk. I iced it and put on some compression socks so hoping it will feel better tomorrow

Tuesday... supposed to get up and do what i expect will be a pretty tough session on the bike. Only one session today so decided to sleep in and do it this afternoon. It was wet, which is good because we desperately need this rain, so dragged the wind trainer out. The calf was still a little sore but it seems to only bother me while running not on the bike. Anyway you know how I thought this would be a tough session.... Oh My God!!!! No wonder there was only one session today. The session was 60km ... the first 10k just warm up and the last 50k to be ridden between the 2 hardest gears. Was not to shift out no matter how slow I was going... and I was going slow!!. Can't believe I got thru that one.

Wednesday.... Am going to head out today and buy myself a shotgun!!!!!! From about 3am this morning the magpies were making such a racket. I have never heard them that early in the morning. Will thinks he read somewhere that they do that to keep warm when its cold. Who knows but whatever the reason they kept me AWAKE and I wasn't too happy. I mean I didn't have to wake till 5am and that's a sleep in for me.

So wide awake I head off to .... today a cold pool!! Can't wait till they sort the boiler out. However 2.8k soon warms you up. The thing was when you work outdoors and that wind is blowing its so hard to get warm and that seemed to be my problem today.
After another wind trainer session this afternoon ( 1hr 34mins) I was ready for bed.... but no rest for the wicked . Hopefully an early night tonight..


I CAN'T FEEL MY FACE... yes its Thursday morning , 4.30am , and it's freezing. Even though I was working hard on the bike especially with my 6 hill repeats and max effort!!! I couldn't get warm. This calls for a coffee and I know just where to get one from!! Cappuccino , double shot with a sugar....very nice.

Well this afternoon was going to test my right calf. I hadn't run since Monday so was curious to see how it would go on a 20k run. It went well!!!! The last couple of K's could just feel it a touch but it never amounted to anything and was nowhere near how bad it was on Monday however the problem I had tonight was motivation. I was just so tired in the legs. The last couple days had seen some pretty tough sessions on the bike and my legs were feeling heavy. Lucky I had Will run with me and that truly did help. Around the 14k mark I just wanted to stop but he kept me on track...thanks love..your the best.

Friday morning saw me hitting the swim lanes again. I have now been put up into the next lane and just hung on the back. I managed to keep up (just) and it wasn't a super hard session so lets hope I can stay with them on the tougher ones.
I was supposed to go to yoga tonight but I just need a night off. Too much to do around the house and little jobs that need chasing up that just weren't getting done. I am thinking I am going to have to change my core sessions. Don't get me wrong i just love the yoga but 20mins to get there, a 90min session then 20mins to get home and it just seems like time I don't have. I have a very dear friend who is a personal trainer . I think I might have a word with her and see if she can put together a short effective core session for me that I can do say 30mins long , 4 times a week from home. Will keep you posted on how that goes.

These ironman riders are crazy. The Saturday ride now starts at 5am in the morning. There were about 8 of us this morning and heading out towards Yanchep it was just DARK. I mean...country road DARK. No street lights, pitch black. No chit chats on the bike for me..mega concentration. This kind of riding makes me a little nervous. Even though we have good lights it only takes one small thing on the road to come up on you all of a sudden. Anyway, made it thru unscathed and with the sun finally coming up my nervous levels dropped!!! For some reason this morning feeling a few waves of nausea around the 30-35k mark and then later around 60k. This seemed to stay with me for the rest of the day coming in waves. Hope I'm not coming down with anything. Anyway managed to finish the 80k then a 5k run off the bike.
The afternoon was great. My sister from Geraldton was down without her 2 beautiful children so decided to spend a girly day together. Lunch in Subiaco, some shopping , coffee stop, then into the city to see the Pompeii Exhibition at the Museum (fantastic...very interesting), more coffee then home with some Thai take a way for dinner....VERY NIIIIICE!!!

Today is Father's Day. I have Mum, Dad and my sister over for lunch then onto Will's parents for dinner. Unfortunately Will has to work till about 3 today but it will be nice to spend the evening with him and the boys.
So while he was at work I headed off to do the Marathon Club run at Lake Gwelup (10k). I was still having some nausea problems and was a little unsure as to whether I would be able to even finish it. But surpisingly once I started running it wasn't too bad and even managed a decent time for me (50.40).

This weeks Stats

Yoga...sadly none
Swim...3hrs....8kms
Running...4hrs 27mins....50kms
Cycling.....8hrs 34mins....222kms
Total 16hrs and a (precious) 1 min


It's been a tough week this week and I know its not going to get any easier. I had read somewhere that our bodies function better on 7hours sleep and that by sleeping more we wake while our body is still going thru one of its cycles , so I've been giving this a go and I must say I don't seem to be waking up feeling tired before I even start my day.
My goal next week is to try and stay as positive as possible ...wish me luck

Ability

is what you're capable of doing.

Motivation

determines what you do.

Attitude

determines how well you do it.

Lou Holtz 1937

American college football coach

Where has the time gone!!!

Where has the last month gone. It feels like only yesterday i was starting my training and now I am about to head into my fifth week...CRAZY!!!

After a wonderful weekend in Geraldton for Dad's 70th it was back to my normal weekly routine! But these social weekends are playing havoc with me trying to lose a little bit of weight.
This week put on AGAIN..65.8k with 21.5% body fat ( which is still dropping so i suppose that's a good thing)

The weeks programme has been similar to past weeks but with a bit of a breather being week 4 and a recovery week. Have had quite a problem sleeping this week . Don't know why ...maybe it's been the full moon every morning.
This week managed
3hrs and 7.6 k in the pool
6hrs 58 and 194kms on the bike
2hrs 59 and 33.6 k running
3hrs and 2 yoga sessions
Total for this week 15hrs 57mins

Monday was swimming and yoga. Ross thinks I am now ready to jump up a lane. I have been managing to hold my own in lane 1 while leading most sessions but I think I will be struggling to just hold on in Lane 2... but hopefully it will make me stronger and that's what I need
Tuesday was another 3.30am start and 60k on the bike with an interval session in the afternoon.
Wednesday 2.9k swim and another windtrainer session in the afternoon
Thursday 40k bike and a 13k run
Friday I just swam. Normally would go to yoga but really just wanted to get ontop of some of the business paper work.
Sat morning rode with Sarah,Nicki and Sue. Great morning for a ride. No rain and a light tail wind to come home to. Sue ran with me off the bike which was great! Then did a yoga session in the afternoon..
And last day of the training week was City to Surf 12k run. With a record number of runners we headed off into the city by train. I hadn't run this race since 2008 and the set up had been changed quite a bit due to the increased numbers. I think they were expecting in excess of 37000 people , maybe even more. The weather was perfect, if not even a little warmer than usual. I was feeling a little leg tired but looking forward to the run. The start is very crowded and it seemed to take a 3-4 kms to get any sense of space. Iwas happy with the run taking 3mins off my last time so no complaints there that's for sure.
Off home and out to lunch with some friends I have known since school, some since primary school. Then off to our club AGM. I am not standing as a committee member this year but was great to see lots of new blood nominate for the new committee.
So tomorrow begins my next 4 week block of training. I am now heading into the Strength and Endurance Phase of the program so there will be some slight changes which I should find interesting (tongue in cheek!!!!!)
So check in next week to say hello.

Today I had some friends who ran in the City to Surf Marathon. They may not have got the times they were planning on , but they have dedicated the last few months to their training and went out there today and gave their all. I would like to thank them for their dedication and efforts as they inspire me to continue on my own journey.
So as always I leave you with this weeks quote..........

"I think a hero is an ordinary individual who finds strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles

Christoper Reeve 1952-2004 American Actor

Week 3.... And feeling time poor

Monday

Well as you may have read I had quite a social weekend. Out for dinner with friends Saturday night and the In-laws on the Sunday night.Both great nights and both full of wonderful food... So it was no surprise when I jumped on the scales this morning......It's so very easy for me to put on weight and up to a few years ago it was a real struggle. There was a time there when I tipped the scales at just over 90kg (and no I wasn't even pregnant then).

Anyway enough of the excuses..

Weight ...65.7kg (gain of 1/2 kilo)

Body Fat %.....22.3% (this was a loss so not all doom and gloom)

As per the last 2 weeks this morning took me off to the pool for a 2.6k set and then the afternoon was my usual Bikram session.

Tuesday

Alot of mind games this morning. Set my alarm for 3.15 so I could be out on the road by 3.30am. Just "mind" argued with myself for 20mins and in the end went back to bed. The weather was really starting to turn ugly as well so that didn't help. So while I had a lovely sleep in till 6 it just creates quite a disastrous afternoon. Was supposed to do 50k but in the end only had time for 45k as I then had to rush off to meet Anna for our interval session ( 8.6kms). Trying to run hard sets after just jumping off the bike was difficult and I think a lesson was well learnt. Next time I get up early and get it out of the way. Anna and I were so lucky, we basically finished our session , jumped in the car and then the rain just bucketed down...PHEW!!

Wednesday

Got to the pool just that little bit early this morning and all up did a 2.8k set. I think the boiler was broken down again as it was just so cold. But Ross was onto it and had a tough set ready so we warmed up pretty quick.

Anna and I got together again in the afternoon to do our windtrainer set. (1hr 40mins and 50k). We set ourselves up down in my garage. I even have a tv set up down there. Today we watched Ironman Kona 2009. Some amazing and wonderful stories to be told . I'm sure the same can be said for Busso Ironman but this time Anna, myself and all those others will be part of that story!!!! Wow... can't wait to read it!!

Thursday

Well no messing around this morning, straight up and out onto the road. This morning was a 40k set with 5 hill repeats at max sustainable effort. I know I must do hill work as that is where my main weakness lies ( with running as well ), but having said that , hill repeats in the early hours of the morning seems extra hard. I cut the time fairly fine on getting home this morning. A very quick shower with breakfast and out on the road. I did feel it this morning , very tired,actually feeling like I might even nod off in the car. But with the aircon on blaring in my face the feeling didn't last long.

But by the time I got home all I wanted to do was have a nap but I just had so much running around to do there was no time.

It is my sons birthday tomorrow so wanted to grab his gift. We are also heading up to Geraldton tomorrow to meet up with my brother and sister and their families as well as Mum and Dad. Mum and Dad have been up north fishing for the past 4 months so we are meeting them to celebrate my Dad turning 70. He certainly doesn't act or look 70. He has and still does keep himself very fit. He even competed in the Half Ironman last year posting a time (under 6 hours) many people younger than him would have liked to finish in.

Because we are heading up North I have had to do a little re arranging of my weekend sessions.

Friday

Today I was supposed to swim but instead did my 90km cycle. I really didn't want to have to drag the bike and gear up to Geraldton and wanted to be available to help my brother and sister-in-law set up for the party. I woke again to rain and made the decision to jump on the windtrainer. Over 3hours on that thing..... very , very boring. I was supposed to also do a 4k run off the bike but by this time had to get on the road otherwise we were never going to get there.

(Dad, Will,Kale,Donna and Toby) (Toby, Kale and Millie)

We were staying with my sister and her 2 beautiful children. We had a great dinner. They all made a special fuss of Kale with pressies and a special birthday icecream cake. A few wines and lots of catching up. It was a great start to an even better weekend.

Saturday

How's that saying go "the best laid plans!!!" . Last night over a few red wines my brother Wayne, husband Will, son Kale and myself , had organised to get up early for a run..well it sounded good at the time!!! Instead we had a sleep in till 7.30 and sat around eating breakfast and drinking cups of tea for a few hours , but don't worry we still headed off just a little later. Geraldton have done some great work along the foreshore so there is no shortage of somewhere to run. The view of the ocean and ships coming into port was wonderful and as always its so nice to run a different route. So 15k run done ! So the only thing I had to miss this week was my swim and the 4 k run off the bike.

Saturday evening was a gourmet meal for my Dad's 70th at my brothers house. With no expense spare.....crayfish, atlantic salmon, prawns, scallops, homemade icecream, sticky date pudding...AND MORE!!!! We had a fabulous evening. It was a memorable weekend and one I will remember for a long time.

Totals for this week

Bike...225kms ...7hrs 55mins

Run...38.6kms...3hrs 29mins

Swim.5.4kms.....2hrs

Yoga 1 session ..1hr 30mins

TOTAL....14hrs 54mins

So in honour of my Dad who has always and will continue to be, a huge inspiration to me.. I leave you with this weeks quote and hope your week has been as family filled as mine!!!

Take care of your body. It's the only place you have to live..... (Anon)

WEDNESDAY
Started the morning with a 2.6k swim. The pool is the coldest it has ever been. Everyone was complaining. They told us it had only dropped by 1.5 degrees but felt like much more than that. After a busy day at work it was a rush to get ready for our Ergo session. Today it was great as there was Anna, Sarah and myself doing the session. This picture shows us BEFORE the sweat and hard work started!!! It's always much easier with company that's for sure.
After that session I had my gorgeous neighbour Karen drop over with a meal. I don't think she will ever realise how much that means to me. We are so lucky and grateful to have such great friends. Thanks heaps Karen ..you truly are a legend!!!!

THURSDAY

Another early start to the day. Got up at 4am to very wild and wet weather. Sorry coach but no road riding for me this morning. Moved the cars out of the garage and jumped on the windtrainer. Tried to copy the hill efforts by cranking up the gears and resistance.
Because of the weather Iwas really busy at work. The wet and cold weather really brings out the coffee drinkers that's for sure.
This afternoon was a 12k run. I think the storm hit about 2k into the run. Got absolutely soaked thru and had a pretty decent head and tail wind to boot.
Was so nice not to worry about cooking this evening. All I had to do was some vegies and dinner was served!!! Thanks again Karen.!

FRIDAY

Today is kind of a rest day for me. Off to the pool this morning. Really will have to try and get there a little earlier so that I can get more distance in the set. Only had time for 2.4k this morning before rushing of to work.
Took the opportunity this afternoon to grab a hair cut and colour and then off to yoga. And my working week is over!!

SATURDAY

Up early this morning (again) for 60k bike and 3k run. Not a breath of wind this morning and according to the weather bureau a less than 10% chance of less than 1mm of rain. Well about 10k into the ride, after Sue got a puncture, it rained and rained, oh and did I mention the word rain!!!!! Got soaked thru! So with squishy socks and a very wet bum I headed off on my run. On the way bumped into my friend Craig who turned around and ran with me . Thanks Craig it really helped to be distracted from the fact that I couldn't even feel my feet!! Craig is currently training for the Marathon run at the City 2 Surf. Looking pretty strong this morning Craig. Sure he'll do really well.Lucky the run was only short and I could then relax with coffee, raisin toast and friends.



SUNDAY



Had a great night out last night with our friends . 4 couples (sadly 1 couple missing :( ) with lots and lots of laughs.We have all known each other for a very long time and although It had been awhile since we had all got together we managed with great ease to fill the night with our conversations. We went to Cafe Relish on Scarborough Bch Rd. Only a small place but really yummy food and nice atmosphere. Our waitress was a crack up and got into the spirit of things.
Here we all are (without the boys), Mary, Genevieve, Jenny and myself.

This morning was a sleep in (YAY) and a 12k run. I have certainly found this week alot less stressful than my first week and alot less tiring, so maybe the body is getting a little more used to the routine.


Stats for this week
Yoga... only could fit in 2 sessions this week ..3 hours
Swim....7.6kms......................................................3 hours
Bike......192kms.....................................................6hrs 44mins
Run.......30.7kms...................................................2hrs 47mins
TOTAL....................................................................15hrs 31mins

With my run out of the way I am left with a big chunk of what looks like a beautiful day to get a few things done before the week starts over. Off to coffee this arvo with a friend of mine who heads over to Budapest for the World Championships in a few weeks and then off to my In-laws for dinner which is always a huge feast as Ada is a fabulous cook. So a great day in store for me.

So now when I look back and read over the past week it really does stare me in the face how many friends I have surrounding me making my life so wonderful. I am one lucky girl. No wonder I am happy!!!!

"...no man is useless while he has a friend"

Robert Louis Stevenson

Week 2...Still alive to tell the tale!!

Early first thing Monday morning and off to the pool again. This morning the temp is under 2degrees...BBBRRRR. It's still dark but should start getting a little lighter soon. A good session this morning. 2.6km. Check out the photo of the sun starting to rise half way thru the session. This never ceases to get an "AH" response out of me...just beautiful and always helps to make it all worth while. Add in the sound of Kookaburras and it truly is one of those moments.

As a member on the committee for the North Coast Tri Club we had our last meeting this evening before the AGM. I must admit I was tired and really needed an early night but it wasn't to be. The people on that committee are amazing and give hours of their personal time for the club... well done to everyone on their commitment throughout 2009-2010 season. By the time I got home got my gear ready for the morning it was after 10pm.. It was going to be tough to get up at 3.45am..yes sireee!!

Got on the scales for my weekly weigh in...Weight 65.1 body fat 24%. So that's a loss in both areas. Down 1/2kilo and 1.3% in body fat. Still a bit to go but will get there.

Tuesday

Well a bit of what I had expected . With the alarm going off I knew it wasn't to be. I quickly reset the alarm for 6am and had a sleep in..I was in for a busy afternoon. As soon as I got home it was RUSH RUSH RUSH.. got my 50kms done on the bike with only an hour to spare before I was heading off for our Interval session with Anna and Sarah. All in all we managed a 7.7km set. Sarah is also being coached by Brad and The 6th Discipline. She works away up north so will be working extra hard to fit her training in. Go Sarah!! Good job tonight.

This is Sarah and I before our set down at Carine Open Space

Week 1 ..Done and Dusted

Well i think what I might do is get thru the boring info first and then get onto the meat and veg after.


Before i started my program i weighed myself. Now its not a common thing for myself ( or many other women i am sure ) to put their body weight out there for all to see. However, i expect over the coming months I will be sharing a warts and all blog with you, the ups and downs, the tears and hopefully laughs, and weight will be the least of my personal issues. Sooo starting weight on August 2nd 2010 was ( fill in drum roll here)..65.6Kg and body fat at 25.3%. Certainly way too high for my liking but I am hoping that (meaning especially the body fat %) will come down over the coming weeks/months.


Stats for Week 1

Swim.... 7.7kms... 3 hrs
Run......27.3kms...2hrs 34 mins
Bike......185.5kms (that's 150k on the road and an ergo session of 35k)...6hrs 54 mins
Yoga.... 3 sessions... 4hrs 30mins


Total for the week..16hrs 58mins





Ok so that's all the stats... lets break the week down.
Monday wasn't too bad at all as I only had a swim (2.5kms) in the morning and Yoga in the afternoon.I suppose i could look at today and Friday as my rest days at the moment. I swim out at the old Inglewood Pool with Ross Pedlow and once I get there I quite enjoy the session.


Tuesday... 50km ride and an interval run session.
Oh if only i could ride faster!!! Had to get up at 3.45am (yes read that again AM) so i could be finished and home by 6 o'clock . Dark and lonely....sounds like the start of a scary novel!!! I spent the first 15km on my own... then out of the darkness another lone crusader. At first i didn't recognise the bike heading towards me but on the second loop we both stopped and it was Will , my gorgeous hubby come to keep me company. Not too many hubbys would jump out of a warm bed to do that. I need to add here that he's working nights not days so wouldn't have had alot of sleep that night. The afternoons run session was hard, not because the session itself was hard, but just not used to such an early start and i was a little tired. Anna and I went up to the run track behind the Arena. We followed our session that Brad had set for us which included a 1km time trial run which we had to record . I suppose this will be a measure of where we started and where we eventually end up. My time was 4mins 24!! which is pretty fast for me. I probably should have gone slower so that my next time trial looked good..:)


Wednesday morning another swim 2.7kms. In the afternoon Anna came over and the 2 of us did our Ergo (windtrainer) session set for us. At the moment these sessions are not too bad but will build gradually as the weeks go by. This sessions went for 70mins (35kms)


Thursday... Where do I start with this day. Got up again at 3.45 to do 40k on the bike and again had my hubby ride with me . Felt alot better today and although my average is still very low it was a definite improvement on Tuesdays ride (average 27.3). Now I know what follows has nothing to do with training but i just gotta share with you the rest of my day!! I had been having some ongoing problems with a water pump on my van. ( For those of you who don't know what I do I have a mobile coffee business). I was under the impression that it had been fixed for the tenth time but nooooo. Unable to work I rang all my customers and heading off to get a new pump. That done i then proceeding to reverse out of the car park and.... backed straight into a brand new 4 wheel drive. GREAT!!!! I felt terrible as the guy had only done 2000kms in it. A few little tears once i jumped in the van and then off home. By this time I had told myself that "nobody got hurt and I have insurance so stop stressing!!" Well it kinda helped a bit. Decided to make use of a non working day and had a big cook -up. Thinking I would get a leg up on the coming weeks evening meals i proceeding to cook up a storm...MasterChef here I come. 3meals down and thought a nice big pot of soup would be a great idea. Had a new recipe I wanted to try "Curried pumpkin and Red Lentil Soup" Sounded yum!! Well you won't be seeing any pictures of this particular dish on the blog. While simmering i decided to sit on the couch ...just for 5 mins.... well I was so tired I just crashed. What seemed to be minutes later ( but obviously wasn't ) I am woken by my husband going OH NO!! Soup was everywhere. It was burnt thick to the bottom of the pan and the house had a lovely wafting burnt smell running thru it...... So lost day of work, hit a parked car and burnt soup!! Great day and i still had to go for a 10km run. I was so tired and under normal circumstances I just wouldn't have gone.. but my program spoke to me and off I went. Met up with friend Sue and together we headed out along some of the most beautiful coastline in the world. From feeling so tired at the start of the run I felt surprisingly good when I finished.


Friday .. another morning swim (2.5k) and a 90min yoga session in the afternoon.


For the next couple of weeks I have had to switch my weekend sessions around as i am working on a Saturday morning so today was my run 10km.

Sunday.. another beautiful day in Perth. A bit of a late start as I was watching the Sydney City to Surf on TV,man those guys at the front were flying.. I think under 3min kms. So I finally got out on the road about 8am. I really do miss the group rides and can't wait till I can join them in a couple more weeks. Did my 60km then had a 3km run at threshold. That was tough and felt more like a 10k run. That's my first brick session since the half. Then finished my Sunday of with another very tough Yoga session.

So... I've finished week 1... and yes I found it hard in a number of areas, particularly getting up early. And yes i know that this is probably going to be the easiest week of training ever, but getting thru it felt good. I know Brad hasn't set anything in the program that he doesn't think we can't complete ... these next few weeks are the stepping stones or building blocks for what's to come . They are to help me prepare. So I thought this little Quote was quite apt!

The man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones

William Faulkner (novelist 1897-1962)

So baby steps at the moment.
Thanks to all those who stopped by for a visit. Hope your weeks a happy one