12 weeks in

The highs and lows of Ironman training...

Whilst riding along on my long ride on Sunday I was going to quit. Not quit my long ride - quit Ironman and I was upset that it was the 1st of January and I wouldn't get as much of a refund if I had quit 1 day earlier on the 31st December....  I was just struggling.  Then I caught up to my friend Jacque who was in the middle of changing a flat tyre and she was bemoaning the horrible course that we were riding and saying how hard it was.  This, coming from someone who rides up Mt Glorious the hard, impossible way within a 200km ride!!!  So, I vowed to stick with it and be patient and put my faith in my training and see where it takes me.

My frustration I think lies in having made so many changes this time around and not really seeing the benefits of them just yet. I have reached my goal weight of 65kilos and was hoping that almost a 10kg loss in weight would translate into a bit of speed on the bike and run, but I don't see it.  I have been incredibly consistent with the training maintaning the 10 sessions a week and adding in a bit of yoga and core strength.  Maybe things will start to click soon, we'll see.  In the meantime, I will be patient, I will make each session count and just get on with it!

My 200m swim times are around the 3:30 mark now, so I am pretty happy with how they are progressing.  I am feeling very comfortable in the water.

I have just started riding a custom TT bike which is not the love of my life, just yet, but I am hoping that we will be great friends soon!  I had a 5 hour ride on Sunday which I managed to stick with it for 3hrs 45mins before finishing it on my ride bike.  I am hoping that over the next couple of weeks I can get comfortable on it over a 6hour ride.  I think that we will be OK together, there is just a bit of teething issues that we need to sort out!  I am doing my first 30min TT on it this Wednesday soI am looking forward to seeing if I go any quicker on it.

My running has been a bit hit and miss - some sessions I feel great and others I just feel very slow and pathetic.  The fact that there are glimmers of my running that feel ok is actually a positive sign considering the terrible base I have with running. I did a hilly 1hr 20min run on Sunday and followed it up with an easy 30min recovery run 5 hours later and my legs weren't sore and I felt good, so I am hoping that even if I am slow I will have the consistency in my running to do a bit better than last year.

So, all in all the training is going well, I am on track, I have no illness or injuries to speak of and things are ticking away.

I am in a recovery week this week and even have a full rest day this Friday (the only one until taper week!!).  After this week, the following 6 weeks are going to be massive and I think I am ready for them!

So much for quitting....