Week 11- More training and Mooloolaba Tri

Week 11 got off to a good start. Despite a 5hr ride on Sunday, I felt good. 

I decided to run to work for my long run on Tuesday. I ran for 1hr:45 and covered 16kms.  It was a nice easy pace and also decided to try out my race kit. A two piece 2XU endurance suit. I wore the tri shorts for cycling on sunday and they went well so I have decided that I am not going to change between legs ( one less thing to worry about on race day).

Jac E and I caught up again on Cootha on Wednesday morning. We both commented on what a beautiful morning it was and how lucky we were to be out cycling and on such a nice day. I ran from work on Wednesday night to meet Brett at the pool. Out of all the sessions I find the Wednesday night run the hardest. Whilst it is only a 30-40min easy run the lead up of the long run on Tuesday and Cootha's Wednesday morning leaves me feeling really tired.

I enjoyed a squad run on Thursday morning. Despite feeling really tired I managed a few sub 5min km efforts. The coffee afterwards was the best.

Friday morning I had the day off training and Brett left me in charge of packing the car for Mooloolaba. We arrived at the pool ( Valentino our cat and I) ready for our road trip.

I managed to get through the week without being evicted by Brett!!! Whilst I felt tired, not nearly as bad as the previous week and felt more on top on things at home. Guess I have got my routine a bit more sorted.

Saturday morning the various BTS IM people met early (5am) for a 1hr30min ride before the squad ride. In total we did 3 hours ( about 85kms). I was a bit nervous about being tired for the race on Sunday, but Mark reassured us that we had put in the training to cope with this before our race.

Sunday morning arrived, it was a bit cool. I scored an early wave start of 7:06. The swim went well and I hit the beach in 28 mins, my total swim time including transition was 28:55. I started to freak out at one stage as there seemed to be no one else around me and I was beginning to think I had missed a buoy. My swim training is paying off ( my best 1500metres to date at Noosa has been 30:20).  My friends Alex, Tim and their son Edward managed to capture my swim exit on video. Ed ( who is 8) didn't quite get my head in the shot but managed to get a lovely butt shot in my pink BTS tri suit. Brett kindly said my butt running up the stairs looked like two possums fighting. ( my husband is so charming lucky I am not the sensitive type).  The video certainly provided plenty of laughs post race.

Out on the bike course I felt like a pro rider, the tailwind was pushing me along at just over 40kms per hour. However I could tell by the way people were swearing and scowling on their way back towards me that the headwind wasn't going to be pretty after the 20km turnaround.  At times I was lucky to hold 20kms per hour on the way back.

Half way through the course one of our Friday morning coffee friends Fiona passed me.  We spent the next 15 kms battling the headwind together and having a bit of a laugh about the conditions. (of course ensuring we were the draft legal distance!!!)  Fi is amazing, she has powered through the training after having her first daughter Evie, just over 8 months ago. Very inspiring. One of our other friends Ann, who also had Annecy 8 or so months ago was also competing.( well done ladies, juggling motherhood and training). I think my life is tough and I only have myself to think about before training.

I finished the bike in 1hr:19 rack to rack( avg pace 30km/hr total bike split 1:23  ( 4 minute transition time( clearly taken by aliens for that part). My legs felt tired but I still felt strong.  

The run leg is my least favourite and knew I just had to truck through it. The hills at Mooloolaba make for a tough run. I set out on the run course and through the tunnel. I was on the look out for Robson from Active Stride ( Robson said if I didn't look like I was running fast enough when he saw me he was going to give me a hard time ( I think I hit the tunnel at just under 5min/km pace, this wasn't going to last though).  As I hit the first hill I heard my friends yelling at me from their balcony this was a great boost.  I hit the first turn around point sitting at about 5min15sec pace. Then it was up the headland again into the wind. On the second lap around the wind seemed like it was stronger and on the way up the girl beside me said don't you hate this hill ( not what I needed to hear!!) She did however add that I must know heaps of people as there seemed to be lots of people yelling out go B.  I think the pink tri suit stands out. My husband tells me I spent too much time socialising on the run course.  This was reconfirmed by my BTS friends Alicia and Sarah who commented that there was way to much smiling going on and not enough "running ugly".  Despite what seemed like a tough run that took forever I finished in 53:20 ( avg pace 5min19sec) ( total time surprisingly 17seconds quicker than my Noosa run time, which indicates that my running is getting stronger).

One thing that makes me laugh is that it normally takes me nearly as long to get back to the squad tent after the race, as it does the actual race. I find myself constantly running into people and stopping for chat to see how their race went.

My total  Mooloolaba race time was 2hrs:45mins:xx. I was happy with my efforts and felt good after my first few solid weeks of IM training. A very good training day out.

All in all a great week and weekend. I am feeling more confident leading into the next few weeks before the half at Port on the 1st May.

Week 12

Finally week 12 has rolled around, this is the start of the real ironman training!!

Monday morning was core and then 45min run at night.  Tuesday morning was a long run. Whilst I was supposed to do 1hr45 to 2hrs, I haven't done much in the way of long runs lately so decided to start out with 1hr 30 to avoid another flare up of plantar facitis that caused me grief during my half marathon training last year. I enjoyed a nice run through the hills in Bardon and Ashgrove.

On Tuesday night I had a squad swim session which included a 800metre TT. My time was 18 secs slower than previous my PB, but I am learning to accept that fact that I am going to be tired and will struggle at some sessions.

Wednesday was my first Mt Cootha session for a while. I had 4 reps up from the Quarry near the gardens to the roundabout at the top. At first I was a bit nervous as I had never ridden up Cootha this many times( I thought to myself  am I going to be able to get through this session? Note to self need to be positive and confident in my ability. The first rep was tough as the legs started to warm up but after that I felt a lot better. With all the descending my hands were starting to get sore from the brakes so I decided to try out descending on my drops ( it was heaps easier and I had way more control- Brett had told me earlier to do this but I always felt like I need to be up on the hoods.

I had another run Wednesday night and I was starting to feel the pinch from the earlier sessions in the week and 7 hours of riding on the weekend.

I had another swim on Thursday morning. I felt dreadful I couldn't hold the pace in the lane and was off the back the whole way and could barely swim a 50mtr in 1 minute ( normally I can hold 45 seconds without too many dramas). The week was catching up with me!! I had a trip to Warwick and Dalby with work straight after so I spent the day driving 600kms!! I decided to have the night off instead of doing my 60 minute run. ( next week I will be more consistent)

Friday morning was 20km TT out at Nundah. Again my time was a bit slower than my previous PB but I still managed to average 35km/hr.

I was back in the pool again Saturday morning for 3km swim followed by 1hr 30 on the bike. I felt heaps better in the pool and ride was fine.

Sunday was my long ride. We set off with BTS crew from the Valley for Hannah's birthday ride. It was pouring with rain. The group rode with us as far as Redcliffe then turned back ( at this point 2 hours into the ride with still another 3 hours to go I really wished as was going back as well!!) But Jac, Ray and I pressed ahead through to Scarborough and then back to town, finishing with a riverloop.  A total of 130kms over 5hrs 30mins. This is the longest distance I have ridden to date. The body held up ok with a little bit of neck pain and lower back pain that kicked in over the 4 hour mark. I was happy that I managed to get through and finish the ride despite being very wet all day. Jac and I enjoyed a nice warm coffee at the end of the ride it tasted so good. Thanks also to Ray for being our decision maker.

We had a family outing on Saturday night. My Dad loves John Williamson so we got him tickets to the show in conjunction with Qld Symphony Orchestra.  Dad is now finding it difficult to walk any distance so we decided to buy him a wheel chair a few weeks ago to make it easier for him to get around.  We had a nice dinner at Indian before the show. Dad is a very proud man and that fact that he struggling to walk and talk is having a big impact on him.  He is battling to remain positive which is hard to accept. I have memories of my Dad dealing with a number of difficult times on the farm. During the drought in the late 70's before roads and transport were good, Dad used to drive through the middle of the night from our farm at Capella to Mackay and back to buy Molasses to feed the cattle to keep them alive. This at the time would have been a 12 hour round trip which he did several times a week. 

Dad is a shell of his former self and as each day goes by he is losing the will to fight what is happening to him.  I reminded him on Saturday that he has got through many battles and tough times in life and that this is no different.  Mum said that after spending time with my sister Megan and myself Dad had a new enthusiasm for keeping up his exercises. So I hope I have given him some courage to keep on taking each  day as it comes and the challenges that it may bring.

As week 12 has drawn to a close, I am beginning to realise how challenging the training is going to be. My training load has picked up from an avg of 10hrs a week to close 17hrs.  I have felt constantly tired this week and sometimes I worry about Dad and also Mum and her ability to cope with his increasing care.  My Mum is an amazing lady, she is very stoic and positive. She is also a big inspiration. She has never been afraid of challenges and new experiences in life. She just goes about it all in quiet unassuming ways. I want to support her has much as possible.  I find the training is helping me to deal with my emotions regarding Dad.  Dad is one the key motivations for me taking on this challenge. When I question my ability to get through it all I keep on coming back to that.

My goals for week 11 are to get to bed earlier and try to be less grumpy at home (sorry Brett I am working this). Luckily my husband has done a Ironman before so he has some level of understanding of how the Ironman training demons can take hold! I have promised him I will buy him a new TT bike later in the year as a reward for putting up with me so hopefully that will keep him sweet.

Week 13

Week 13 has rolled around, and the clock is winding down to that important date of 5 June 2011.

I have 3 rest days this week. This can't be good. I am guessing I am going to get hammered next week. Coach Mark has said the first 8 weeks of training is only the entree to Ironman training. The real work starts in the last 12 weeks.

I put in a good solid effort over the weekend on the bike with 180kms covered in 2 sessions.  Saturday morning was supposed to be an easy ride. I turned up at the Valley Pool to met my friend Kate.  The Red Dog ride was leaving at the same time and I got roped in by Brett and Kate to doing the ride.  So much for my easy ride. We did 3 hours through the hills of Gap Creek and Brookfield.  I kept on thinking bloody hell I hope Cairns is not like this!! I felt like I was being spat out the back of the group on every hill. Thankfully there were a few of us who plodded along together.   I made Brett buy me breakie at the Villager afterwards. They have awesome coffee and fruit toast.  The St Patrick's Day parade was just about to kick off on George St so we sat outside and watched over breakfast.

Sunday morning was 4 hour ride with my sister on the Gold Coast. I ended up being dragged along to a 40th birthday party at Burleigh at the last minute. Being the party animal I am these days I drank soda water and we left as early as politely possible after the cutting of the cake.

The Sunday ride was lovely we rode along the coast from Helensvale to Currumbin Valley. The Gold Coast is so well set up with great wide cycle ways.

I always wait with nervous anticipation for the email from coach Mark on Sunday night revealing the coming 2 weeks program. Thankfully my friends Sarah and Alicia ( recent IMNZ graduates) I told me what to expect. The volume has stepped up and there is lots of running but I am looking forward to the next challenges in the program.  BRING ON WEEK 12.

Week 14- IMNZ ( Just watching !!!)

I squeezed in a couple of training sessions before flying out to NZ to watch Ironman at Taupo.  Wednesday morning was quite wet. A big storm came through about 4am, but I decided I would roll down the hill to the squad ride anyway. All 3 of us turned up!! I think I am beginning to turn into the guy on "the I am training for Ironman video". I was on autopilot when the alarm went off. I didn't even think about the wet morning outside, all I could think was I have a 2 hour ride on my program.  I knew I could rely on Leigh and Yas to be there as they never miss a session.  Anyway Mark decided to cancel the ride as the storms were still around. I did a river loop pretty much all to myself ( what a rare sight, I only saw one other cyclist in the hour or so I was riding around).

We flew out early Thursday morning. We should have arrived in Taupo at 4 in the afternoon. But Qantas managed to damage the plane with aerobridge so our flight was cancelled. Anyway we got put on a Air NZ flight, but arrived in Auckland minus our bags. Oh well, we got our bags at 12 the next day so it didn't turn out so bad. Things are worse in life than that.

Taupo is a lovely town on a gorgeous lake. The people of Taupo love Ironman. People were so friendly and supportive. I get the feeling after visiting Port Macquarie last year during IM that Australians are not as keen about having an Ironman in their town.

Taupo certainly turned on a tough day for my friends racing IM. We awoke to pouring rain on Saturday morning. The swim start was awesome as ever with the cannon going off.  The rain showed no signs of relenting and everyone endured a very wet 180km ride.  I was so pleased to see the first timers and my BTS friends Alicia and Sarah complete the first lap ( 90kms) in just over 3 hours and they were still smiling.

Despite being soaked and cold for the better part of 16 hours we didn't want to miss anyone so we stood for most of the day cheering everyone on.  I was encouraged by the strength everyone showed to get through the day alone let alone the conditions which added an additional element to the challenge of Ironman.

It was so great to see Sarah and Alicia both finish in under 13hours, I know they are 2 determined ladies and that certainly showed on the day. They raced smart and paced the day accordingly. I think their long suffering, but very proud  Ironman weary husbands were also glad it was finally over too!!

Whilst in Taupo I went to a presentation by John Ackland who coaches a number of the pros including Terrenzo Bozzone and Sam Warriner ( 1st place elite female 2011 NZ IM) who were also guest speakers.  Ok yes Terrenzo is very cute, but really I was going to hear John speak and not Terrenzo. The key message that John delivered for first time Ironman athletes was keep the pace easy for the swim, bike and first 20km of the run should be treated as easy session, only the last 20kms of the run should be raced. I think this is great advice and whilst I would love to "race the last 20kms" I think I will be just aiming to finish. I noticed a number of people sprinted out of T2 onto the run course at 10km race pace only to be reduced to walk a few km's up the road. This is a good lesson in pacing.

At the end the presentation John put up some finishers photos from the previous night. I got quite emotional looking at the expressions on people's faces as they crossed the finish line. For those people who had raced well into the night in the pouring rain it would have taken that extra resolve to finish.  I can only imagine there is nothing quite like running into the finishers shute! I look forward to that day in just over 13 weeks time.